A Red and Blue Eyed Paradox
by KaibaGirl007
Summary: After being pulled through the rift Seto and Joey face the duel of their lives. To lose would mean the end of mankind as they know it. Can they beat Paradox to save the past, present and future? Or have they met their match?
1. Chapter 1

**This fic is part of my 'Doctoring the Blue Eyes' saga (a full reading order list can be found in my profile) and although the series as a whole is a YuGiOh!/Doctor Who/Torchwood crossover, this particular instalment is _heavily_ YuGiOh! based. **

**_As usual, I own no rights to any of the shows 'cause I'm poor :P_**

_88888888888888888888888888888888_

"**If we take our time **

**And we stick together **

**Everything we do **

**Will go our way **

**I have no doubt **

**This situation **

**Will end and we'll enjoy another day" **

- Let's Kick It Up, Paul Gorden

_88888888888888888888888888888888_

_._

**Chapter One**

Cheers and whoops rang throughout the Kaiba Corp basement hub of Torchwood Five as the quartet team celebrated their long awaited and very much deserved victory. After years of precise and what sometimes seemed like painfully slow undercover work , they had finally brought down and seized the alien artefacts hoarded by Henry Van Statten in his gigantic underground bunker.

All of them, working together as a team, had found themselves to be a remarkable force as each one played their part in the long-haul operation. _Seto_, after much resistance at the start, had reluctantly allowed his company to form a partnership with the American firm in order to reel the suspect closer for observations; to say that he was overjoyed at now being able to tear-up the contracts that were no longer required between Kaiba Corp and Geocomtex was very much an understatement. _Diana,_ under her boss's strict orders had managed to infiltrate her way right up the ranks to become the other CEO's second in command; a pivotal role that would have cost them everything had she not been up to the task at hand. And of course _Rebecca_ and _Ryou_ had shared the tedious tasks of researching, documenting, archiving and double-checking everything regarding the case at hand to make sure that they left nothing to chance or had missed anything that would have allowed Van Statten to escape or foil their inquiries.

Now with the hardest part over, the case had been handed back to the captain whom had originally assigned it to them in the first place. He'd now called upon UNIT for their help to clear the huge haul for their own taking. After that the vault would then be filled with cement to prevent such a haul being accumulated again by the man should he ever regain his memory and find his way back from whatever city he'd been taken to and abandoned there.

"I thought we'd never be able to confiscate his hoard." Ryou stated excitedly as he clutched the two champagne flutes in his hands.

"Nice to see that my _team_ has confidence in each other." Seto scoffed as he removed the foil from around the neck of the ice cold bottle of Cristal Champagne in his grasp.

"No … I … I just meant … we've been working on the case for a long time now ..."

"Leave it Ryou, he's just yanking your chain." Rebecca came to her friend's defence as she witnessed the unnerved and apologetic reaction from him. She sent a disapproving look her brother-in-law's way.

"What?" The CEO replied with raised brows. "It's not _my_ fault that he doesn't get sarcasm."

With the cage now loosened around the bottle's neck and cork, Seto reached for the sabre on the nearby work surface. He held the bottle at an angle away from his team, brought the small sword up and then swiftly dragged the blade along the bottle's surface where it made contact with the lip at the neck's end and torn it, along with the cage and cork, clean off. A stream of foamy bubbles gradually seeped over the neat cut across the bottle's neck and washed away any micro shards of glass that may have remained before the fizzing beverage was then poured into the four glass flutes.

"I'm surprised that Jack isn't here." Diana said angling her glass so that the rising froth within wouldn't cause her drink to overflow.

"It wasn't like I didn't try." Seto sighed at the thought of when he had called to invite the other man over to join their celebration. "Ianto informed me that _apparently_ Jack was too busy drooling over all of the spandex clad athletes to be concerned with our triumph."

"The opening ceremony!" Ryou gasped out loud. He placed down one of the now full champagne flutes before racing round to his desk and switched on his monitor screen that now displayed the start of the London Olympic games. Rebecca joined him as she too watched, her celebratory drink remaining untouched.

The CEO placed the almost empty bottle down next to the sabre and lifted the glass that the white haired man had left there for him. _Well, this isn't quite the celebration I had in mind after all that effort we went through for this victory. _

Diana approached her boss, glad to be in his presence once again after having spent so much time with that conceited arrogant prick, Henry Van Statten. "So … no acclamations then?"

"You're an adult Diana; don't act like a child and expect additional praise for merely doing your job." He taunted before taking a sip from his champagne.

"Translation please?" She jeered, knowing his humour only too well.

He glanced at the devoted woman over the rim of his glass whilst he drank and then let a smile grace his features when he next spoke, "Well done; of course I'm extremely proud of you."

"Hey Seto, come and take a look at this!" Rebecca shouted to grab his attention.

Together he and Diana made their way over towards the TV screen now showing a man in a long brown trench coat carrying the Olympic torch. "Is that who I think it is?"

"Ah-huh."

"Who?" Ryou asked curiously as he watched the two mascots, Wenlock and Mandevile, now join the cheery looking man in his stride.

"The Doctor." Rebecca explained.

"Ah, so that's what he looks like!" He'd heard stories of the timelord but hadn't known what he actually looked like.

"Wait a minute." Diana joined the conversation. "That's _not_ the Doctor."

"Yes it is." The other woman argued back.

"No, no, the Doctor that I met wore leather, had extremely short dark hair, big ears and nose to match." She'd met the timelord just a couple of days ago in the Utah desert so knew what she was talking about.

"You must have met his previous regeneration." Seto clarified just as the alarm on his cell phone started to beep. He caught a glimpse of the confused look on Diana's face as he consulted his device. "Becky can explain, I have an appointment to keep."

The CEO drained the rest of the champagne from his flute before placing it down alongside the bottle and sabre. He then proceeded to head for the duel disk connected to the workstation at the far side of the room.

"What are you doing with that?" Rebecca called as she followed after him.

"It _saves _on traveling time." He replied as though she had asked him the most stupid question possible.

"But that's the prototype we've been _fine tuning_ to respond to rift activity." She argued back with just as much scorn as she'd received. "Do you really think you should be taking it?"

"What's your point?" The duel disk 'hopper' was now already fully attached to his arm as he turned to face and stare her down.

"I just don't want you to be snatched away to who knows where if the rift opens." Rebecca made clear the concern she held for him as her brother-in-law and that she wasn't just being defiant.

Seto gave a studying glance back over his shoulder towards the workstation's screen and checked the data it displayed. "Ryou, how accurate is this thing?"

"It's not been wrong so far." The other man shouted back in response to his boss' query regarding the rift monitor.

"Well in that case, we're not due another ripple until late next week." He scanned and traced the information with his index finger so that his sister-in-law would follow and see his reasoning. "I'll be fine."

"I dunno ..."

"Don't!" Seto raised his finger as he spoke whilst looking through the pair of spectacles that enhance her emerald eyes. "You stop that worrying right now Rebecca Kaiba." He pointed down to her abdomen were his next nephew or niece was steadily growing inside her. "It's bad for the baby."

She didn't have the strength or heart to protest any further knowing that he in the mood to attempt to use any little probable excuse at hand to gain what he wanted. Sometimes it was best to just let him have his own way and assume that he'd won. "Okay, but just promise me that you won't cause any damage to ruin the work we've achieved so far, because if you do then you're calibrating the next one on your own."

"I promise." The alarm on his phone sounded again, this time he not only cancelled it but placed the whole handset on silent mode. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a _very_ important business meeting to attend to."

_88888888888888888888888888888888_

The flash of light from the hopper left Seto standing outside a rundown apartment block. He glanced around in disgust at what he saw as graffiti covered every wall and rubbish lay scattered across the ground. Looking very much out of place in his smart silver suit he double checked the address hoping he had the wrong neighbourhood. _Nope, this is definitely where I need to be._

Grudgingly the CEO entered into the building and made his way for the elevator. A sign hanging from the smashed vandalised outer doors stated that it was 'out of order'. _No kidding! _He then diverted his path to the stairwells and began to ascend them, doing his best to maintain his cool composure and not be effected by the foul smell of faeces and urine that filled the air. _Just my luck that I've got to climb thirteen flights through this stench to reach my destination! _He grumbled to himself and remembered his reason for being here.

It had been around three years now since he'd made amends with the group of geeks whom he'd shunned during his youth, though he'd spent rarely any _actual _time with them since. Mostly, more often then not, they were all busy with their own lives. Him with his _'companies' _and family, _Yugi_ situated in Egypt with his excavations and teachings, _Tea_ off gallivanting the continents with her dance group, and _Joey_ doing whatever it was that he did when he wasn't moping around like some angry teenager. In fact he'd seen more of the _Taylors_ over the recent years than the other three all put together. Not that it was something that particularly bothered him, he'd grown use to his own, minimal or selected company over the years after all, but secretly he had been glad to have had the unexpected encounter several weeks backs that now lead him to today. _If only it wasn't for meeting here in this rundown shit-hole ... _

A short while later Seto finally reached the floor and apartment number he had come here to find and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Came an inquisitive shout from the other side of the door.

"It's me."

"I don't know no mes."

"I'm not in the mood for playing games Wheeler!" He growled impatiently.

"You very rarely are." The sound of a lock being drawn back could be heard and the door opened enough for Joey,- sporting some unkempt facial stubble,- to poke his head around. "I totally forgot you were coming over today."

"It happens." Seto shrugged lazily now having returned back to a calmer state and waited patiently to be invited inside.

"Come in." Joey pulled the door further back to allow his visitor access whilst managed to stay concealed from view.

The CEO strode forward in one gigantic stride and now found himself standing in the hallway of the dank apartment. He turned as he heard the door behind him relocked and saw the other man wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. A perplexed brow was raised questioningly towards the blond.

"Like I said, I _forgot_ you were coming." Joey argued back at the stare he'd received.

"However you choose to spend your free time is completely up to you." Seto held his hands up in surrender to help prove that he wasn't here to start a fight between the two of them. "I'm not here to judge."

"Glad to hear." Joey smirked as he pushed by his guest and lead him through into the main living area of his small cramped apartment. "As for free time, I've got a lot of that lately."

"How so?" The conversation was politely continued as Seto scanned around the appalling state of what the other man classed as a 'home' where empty beer bottles and takeaway cartons covered every inch of surface area possible.

"I've been laid off." He explained the even more unfortunate situation he'd currently found himself in. "The firm I was employed at went bust a few weeks back. I've been searching for work since, but the whole economy is so crap right now that there're very few jobs out there."

"I'm sure something will turn up." Seto's response had zoned into _'uncaring autopilot mode'_, a technique he'd long since perfected during its endless use in conversations with his wife's best friend. _How can anyone live like this? _

"With my run of luck it seems unlikely." The scoff was extremely bitter. "This is just another kick in the teeth for Joey Wheeler."

Silence feel between the two men.

Still the CEO continued to take note on the sorry looking state of the place as he viewed stacks of boxed possessions, - no doubt they'd remained untouched over the years since the other man's divorce, - that lined the wall, and dirty clothes forming piles at wherever they had been dropped.

"Anyhoo, you came here to duel, not to hear me bitch like a girl." The blond had now attached his duel disk to his arm and activated it so that the playing field snapped into position.

The brunette shook his head. "I'm not duelling until you put some clothes on."

"And you said that you weren't here to judge."

"That was _before_ I saw the state of the rest of things." Seto's eyes narrowed and his voice became strident. "At least _show me _that you still retain a shred of pride and dignity; once you've lost that then you really _will _end up like your old man."

Joey's fist clenched tightly in anger that it sent his knuckles white within a split second. _How dare he! He comes here,- into my home,- and thinks he has the right to lecture me?! Why that no good son of a … _

Suddenly the anger Joey felt began to gradually subside, even under the stern glare he was still receiving. It had been harsh to hear such a comment spoken to him like it had, but now thinking about it, had Kaiba stated reality bluntly on purpose to cause him to see the situation he'd allowed himself to recede to? Not a single one of his friends had ever taken such a direct angle or shown him any interest since he'd become withdrawn from them over the recent months, so why had Moneybags? _Could it be that he actually cares? _

"Okay Rich-boy, I'll go change." A sly, yet appreciative, smile crept onto the blond's face as he removed his duel disk and handed it over to his guest. "You just wait right here, feel free make yourself at home." He headed towards and entered his bedroom closing the door behind him.

_Make myself at home? _Seto did another sweep with his eyes and guessed that Joey wouldn't be too thrilled if he purged the place of everything in sight. It'd be the only way he'd feel comfortable enough to even consider 'making himself at home' in the other man's dwellings. With a sigh he carefully pushed aside an electric guitar, games console controller and empty snack packaging on the messy sofa before setting himself down warily. _What the hell happened to you Wheeler?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Footage of the Olympic games ceremony continued to be shown on the television monitor resting on Ryou's desk in the Torchwood Five hub. Seated in front of it, he and Diana finished downing the contents of the champagne bottle whilst watching the Queen make her supposed entrance by parachuting her way down into the stadium from a helicopter with James Bond.

Rebecca had decided to occupy her time on her computer by working on the retraction programme she and Seto had started as part of his rift monitoring and exploration project. Perfection was needed to make sure that calculations were correct and that it remained free from any glitches that could otherwise put the safety of the person hopping at risk. Her work was almost done and within the final stages of completion which would only take another several hours in order to reach her goal.

A flash of light filled the room and revealed the two men from Torchwood Three once it had faded. The captain turned and cheerily spoke to the woman nearest him as she worked hard away on her keyboard. "I've been informed that congratulations are in order."

"They are indeed." Rebecca replied and indicated towards her female colleague who was the current star of the moment.

Jack bounded across the room over towards Diana. "Well done. It's been a long, and at times seemingly endless, operation that wouldn't have succeeded without your patience and dedication." He took her hand and planted an kiss on it in an old fashioned gesture.

"Oh please, you're flattering me Captain!"

White teeth flashed from within his impish grin. "I've not even started yet."

"Do behave yourself." Ianto rolled his eyes at his lover's antics. "She's just spent a great deal of time in the presence of that egotistical jerk and doesn't need to spend it with another."

"Where is Seto anyway?" Jack asked trying to be funny by implying his friend was the one being spoken of.

"Business meeting." Rebecca called over her shoulder in reply to the captain's query.

"With whom?" The Welshman asked curiously. He'd been confided in by the CEO on recent business ventures but had heard nothing mentioned of a meeting scheduled for today.

"Didn't say." She replied with a shake of her head whilst still keying away commands into the machine in front of her. "Must be extremely important though as he took the hopper to reach his destination. And not just _any_ hopper, but the prototype we calibrated for rift exploration."

"Rift exploration?" Both Jack and Ianto chorused together as they made their way back over to Rebecca.

"We've been monitoring the waves emitted from the rift and used them to test sending small items through and back again. Our last three attempts included sending caged mice which were unaffected upon return, - and have remained just so,- so Seto is planning on going through himself at the next chance which is why we made the required adjustments to the hopper to automatically enable this."

"Why that conceited ..."

"Watch your language Jack; there's ladies present." Ianto warned him at seeing and understanding the frustration burning within the captain.

"I told him _no_!" Jack snapped in annoyance at having been defied by the younger man.

"Yes, well this _is _Seto we're talking about." The Welshman knew only too well how stubborn the other man was. "Maybe if we introduced him to the residents of Flat Holm that would be enough to dissuade him?" Indeed seeing the trauma inflicted upon the innocent victims sucked through the rift by its negative spikes would surely be enough to make even his friend think twice to reconsider the reckless chances he'd be gambling with.

"I'm failing to see what the problem is here?" Ryou joined the conversation that he hadn't been able to not overhear.

"The _problem _is that the rift is unpredictable." The captain started his explanation, hoping the others would take note to the seriousness that their boss obviously hadn't. "If anyone were to go through of their own accord or not, they could end up anywhere in time, space, or dimension. I've recovered people who've been left irreparably damaged both physically and mentally from such an ordeal ..."

"But there's no chance of that happening to Seto." Rebecca interrupted. Sure she'd had her doubts at first too and, putting aside her own currently overactive hormones, she now brought up floods of data on her screen to support their experiment. "We've run test, _after_ test, _after_ test, to determine the safety of such an expedition. Nothing has been left to chance. Once the retraction programme is finished and has undergone some fine tuning it will be ready for when the next wave hits towards the end of next week."

Ianto looked over all the information that had been provided for them to view. Nothing had been overlooked or neglected and every angle seemed covered. "Maybe you're worrying about nothing Jack. Everything seems to be solid."

"Of course it is!" Diana exclaimed. "Did you honestly expect less than perfect from Seto Kaiba?"

Jack still seemed unsure as he continued to watch the motionless rift monitor.

"It's not like he's trying to manipulate and open the rift." The Welshman assured his lover as he comfortingly took hold of his hand. "There's no threat to the rest of mankind, just let it be."

Perhaps he'd been overreacting. Maybe Seto had even managed to make progress in an area that he himself had long given up hope in trying to control. Still there was a niggling feeling that he just couldn't shake. Like fate was being tempted …

_Blip._

"Looks like Seto's little side project isn't as air tight as he thinks it is." Jack pointed to the rift monitor that had suddenly projected a wiggle which ran across the display.

"That wasn't there earlier." Rebecca assured in a mild state of shock at what she had seen.

"Like I said, the rift is unpredictable." The captain stated with an air of smugness at having being proven correct.

"Oh my!" Ryou exclaimed as he watched the wavering line grow stronger and wilder as though something was being ridden down it at a thundering rate. "Just look at the speed of it. If it keeps up like that then it will hit at any moment now."

"And Seto's hopper will activate." Rebecca abandoned her current task and reached for her cell phone, just as Ianto did the same with his, both of them trying to contact the CEO before it was too late.

_88888888888888888888888888888888_

Seto's cell phone rang silently and unnoticed inside his suit's breast pocket as he sat waiting for the blond to reemerge from his room. _How am I meant to handle this situation? _He wondered to himself about the other man's state and wellbeing. _Not that it's any of my business to begin with…_

"There, better?" Joey reappeared now wearing jeans and a short sleeved shirt.

"You could have at least tucked your shirt in." Seto smirked, impressed that his instruction of putting more clothes on had actually been followed. _Maybe there's still hope for him yet._

"I'll wear it how I damn well please!" He shot back jeeringly. "And don't even consider lecturing me about not wearing any socks." Toes wriggled as he saw the sapphire gaze fall down to his feet.

"I wouldn't _dream _of it."

"Good." Joey stated though the sarcasm had been noted. He held his hand out to demand his duel disk returned to him. "Now are we gonna duel or not?"

Rising to his feet Seto had considered pulling the blond up more on his appearance, - his hair hadn't looked like it'd seen water or a comb for over a week or possibly two,- but decided that baby-steps would be the better option for the situation at hand. Besides, he'd have plenty of opportunity to try and get through to him during their duel. He went to hand the duel disk he held back to its owner only to find a bright light erupt from his own to envelope them both.

The light cleared and the two men now found themselves outside in the open on a grassy and rugged plain that stretched for miles in front of them. A tract of trees, mostly standing though some had been felled, lined to the side and behind of them near to where the ground stopped and created a huge crevice.

"What the …?!" Joey gasped as he turned on the brunette. "Has this got anything to do with you?"

"Sadly I'd have to say yes."

"WHERE are we?"

"Do I look like I know?!" Seto snapped venomously in response to the now aggravated man at his side.

The blond backed down to avoid getting into further confrontation and calmly attached the duel disk to his arm. For a moment back inside his apartment it had felt like he'd made some progress with befriending the other man, but right now he was being shown the exact behaviour he'd once known to expect. _Maybe I was wrong to have though otherwise?_

Calming himself and withdrawing into his own thoughts the CEO became distant as he began to walk further inland away from the cliff drop and surveyed their new surroundings. _What the hell's going on here?!_ _The rift wasn't supposed to rupture again until next week. Are we stuck here now because of me? Did I miscalculate? Underestimate? No, I covered everything..._

"I'm beginning to think that maybe I should have put something on my feet." Joey winced and made a hiss with each step he took as his bare feet trod on stones and uneven ground.

"Quit complaining." Seto sneered as he tried to make sense of what had happened.

"That's easy for you to say wearing ya fancy designer shoes."

"It's not my fault that you failed to dress adequately."

"I _didn't _expect to be leaving the safety of my own home!"

"You call that place a home?" Seto lost the holds he'd had on both his thinking and disposition. "A _cesspit _would be a more appropriate word!"

"Well _EXCUSE ME,_ for not being wealthy enough to hire someone to clean my home for me!"

"That's no excuse for your laziness, _plus_ I don't hire anyone either."

"Oh of course!" Joey laughed at the preposterous remarked he'd just received. "Why would you _pay_ someone else when _Kisara_ will do it for free?"

"At least I _have_ a wife!" Seto's anger fuelled reply hit a raw nerve with the blond who lunged at him. _Go on hit me!_ He willed silently to be struck at having successfully provoked the other man who now had a firm and forceful grip on his suit's lapels. _Go on; I deserve it for screwing up and having us stranded here!_

Somehow managing to keep a hold on his anger Joey slowly let go of the silver suit and brazenly used his fingertips to swept out the creases he'd caused. Deep down he knew that his past misfortunes weren't truly worth coming to blows over with him; it wasn't Kaiba he was angry at. He backed away to claim the personal space he desired before letting his guard down. "It wasn't supposed to be like this!"

Seto watched uneasily as the man in front of him began to break.

"I gave her everything I possibly could. We may not have had much financially, but we were happy. Or so I thought." The blond tried to choke back the tears that came with the remembrance of the happier times in his life that he had once shared with Mai before she had left him. His waterlogged view focused back on the CEO. "We were out to prove to people, - people like _you!_, - that true love could concur all."

It was now becoming increasingly awkward to stand there and see the broken man collapse down to his knees but still Seto remained where he was.

"I cared, I believed _so damn much_ that I let it delude me." The sobs now came fast and freely as the memory of the affair between the woman he loved and that Devlin creep overrode him. Both of them had surely been laughing behind his back at his generous nature before taking off with the small fortune that had been gained from the other man's selling of rights to that stupid dice game. As much as he'd tried to deny it, money was indeed power and the only true happiness his ex-wife had been after. "Nice guys like me; we _always_ finish last."

The stream of tears trickled down Joey's nose as he hung his head low and continued to cry where he knelt. It was the last straw on Seto's conscience and he guiltily apologised for the angry taunt he'd made to have induced such a reaction. "I'm sorry."

His words didn't seem to have had much effect as the blond continued to sob. _Once I've sorted this mess and gotten us home from wherever the hell we are, I guess I've no choice but to straddle myself with yours. _He took several steps closer and placed a comforting hand on Joey's shoulder. "You're a strong man Wheeler; together we can get you past this."

_Together? We?_ Joey's tears stopped though now he struggled to fight off another wave that threaten to unmask his joy at having possibly acquired a new friendship.

A loud sound of a roaring engine filled the air and caught the CEO's attention as he looked to the vast space in front of them and saw a motorbike, - or some kind of dune-buggy perhaps?, - come speeding towards them. Another step forwards placed himself between his fallen friend and the shiny metallic vehicle that came screeching to a halt in a cloud of dust just several feet away.

"Are you the duellists Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler?" The masked rider with long flowing blond hair framed by blue bangs demanded in a rather dominant yet calm manner.

"Who wants to know?" Seto countered with a question of his own whilst his duel disk clad arm was still raised from fending off the dust that had been sent in his direction. _Is he wearing half of my old coat?_

"My name is Paradox." The stranger introduced himself though his two toned mask still remained firmly in place. "Prepare to duel and meet your end."

"Or end."

Two momentarily perplexed gazes where drawn to the source of the comment as they looked at the kneeling man who was now returning to his feet to stand once again.

_Welcome back._ Seto smiled inwardly at seeing the blond's temperament return.

Joey looked directly at the newcomer to the scene. "Surely you meant to say, prepare to duel _OR_ meet your end?"

"That would imply you had a chance ..." A rather amused Paradox shot back. "...which I'm afraid you two just don't have."

"Says who?" The brunette snorted at the conceited remark that had been made. _Someone clearly doesn't know who he's dealing with._

"ME." Minimal effort was taken by Paradox to remove the mask from his face that now revealed a pair of golden eyes narrowed dangerously on his chosen targets. _I'll show Z-one that I can better our time. _Without warning the motorbike-like vehicle began to rise up and alter shape so that it now resembled a floating platform to conduct his side of the duel from.

"You gravely underestimate us." Seto scoffed as he activated the duel disk on his arm, keeping his awe hidden from having just witnessed the fantastical transformation of the opposition's machine.

"W-what he said." Joey piped in nervously as the playing field on his duel disk also snapped into place. Traces of doubt had begun to rise in his mind as it had been many years since such stakes had been placed on the line, not to mention that neither one of them were exactly _The King of Games_ either.

"You ready Wheeler?"

The smirk from the CEO beside him somehow managed to eliminate the flicker of doubt from his mind and he nodded his confirmation with a mirrored grin. "Ready Rich-boy."

Together they stood side by side as one united and confident force, so attuned that even their thoughts synced; _Okay Paradox, bring it on!_

_8888888_

**A/N: My inspiration for this whole story was due to Paradox summoning the Malefic Blue Eyes (and Malefic Red Eyes) in the Bonds Beyond Time movie. Surely the only way he could have had a normal Blue Eyes in his deck would have been if he had defeated Kaiba, which I personally think would have made the movie a little more interesting if it had expanded on it, but of course wasn't. **

**And so this fic was born.**

**KG**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The cards for the duel in this fic are a ****mish-mash from all areas of the anime, manga & TCG as it was difficult to stick to just one.** **I'm also aware of a couple of slip-ups made (the way the last monster in this chapter is summoned for example) and bent/tweaked a couple slightly for the purpose of a double duel, but ****hopefully it won't ruin the enjoyment of it as a whole. **

**Chapter Three**

"Still nothing." Ianto grumbled as he snapped his cell phone shut and resisted the urge to hurl it to the ground in frustration. His voice now began to waver as he spoke, "I-I'm not even getting through to his voicemail anymore, just some pre-recorded message stating that his handset is out of the coverage area."

Contacting Seto to warn him of the approaching danger had been unsuccessful and it had now been several minutes since they witnessed the wave 'hit' according to the monitoring system. Sooner or later they were going to have to accept the fact that the CEO had been claimed by the negative rift spike.

"Do I need to say _'I told you so'_?" Jack asked still trying to sound unnerved and in command though he actually wanted to breakdown at the thought of his lost friend. He pulled the Welshman close for the comfort they both needed.

"If we truly have lost Seto then I don't think that pouring more salt into the wound with your gloating is going to help things Captain." Diana sounded threatening with her tone as she scold him for the remark only to receive a harsh look from Ianto who silently came to his lover's defence.

"Don't give up hope yet." Rebecca spoke to them all as her fingers clattered across the keyboard in front of her whilst she tried not to think about the horrendous task of possibly having to break such devastating news to both Mokuba and Kisara. "We _will _get him back."

"Do you really think that's possible?" Ryou asked her knowing that their chances of actual success were extremely slim.

_Right now, no._ Rebecca told herself in response to his question as she tried to mask her doubts with trembling lips that didn't quite have the strength to curve upwards. Her fingers sped up even more as she raced to complete the unfinished retraction programme in record time. She wasn't going to give up without a fight. "They don't call me a Kaiba for nothing you know."

_88888888888888888888888888888888_

All players had been assigned 4000 life points each. The duo had been granted the first move and the two of them would then take it in alternate turns to play. In return the challenger had also agreed to abide by the same rule of alternative play as he faced off against them, though it was left up to him who he chose to target first.

"You fools will soon rue the day that you learnt to play Duel Monsters." Paradox taunted both of his opponents as their duel was about to commence.

"Somehow I don't think so." Joey shot back what both he and Seto were thinking as the three duellists each drew starter hands from their decks. He looked down at his five cards; 'Scapegoat', 'Red Eyes Black Dragon', 'Skull Dice', 'Release Restraint', and 'Nutrient Z'._ Oh boy, that's not the best hand in the world to start with, but I've had worse!_

Casually he looked to his left to see his duel partner also consulting the hand that had been drawn from his own deck and waited patiently for the decision on which of them should go first. Sapphire eyes raised to meet his and the gestured nod indicated that he should be the one to make the first move.

"Okay!" Joey breathed deeply as he psyched himself up. "It's my move!" He drew his card and automatically played it straight away. "I play 'Pot of Greed' to enable me to draw two more cards."

_Aw man!_ The two cards, - 'Gearfried the Swordsman' and 'Extra Boost', - where added to his hand as he struggled to keep his features straight and unnerved by the poor additional draw he'd received. He took hold of a trusty spell card. "I set a card and end my turn."

"You must have a pretty pathetic hand if that's all you're going to do." Paradox sneered as he started his turn and drew his card. "First I activate the 'Malefic World' field card."

"The what world?!" Joey asked but was completely ignored.

The field card was placed into the challenger's duel disk up on the floating machinery platform and the whole area surrounding them turned into a purplish-pink atmosphere full of stars. Seto couldn't help but be reminded of the Shadow Realm that had been spoken of and linked to the millennium artefacts from his youth. Although he'd chosen to disregard the claims as nothing but nonsense back then he wasn't going to be taking any chances if that was indeed the case he'd find themselves faced with right now.

"From where I come from in the distant future, Duel Monsters has evolved several times over that I need to summon this playing field to be able to have my monsters battle against your prehistoric pipsqueaks. Fortunately for the pair of you I'm only permitted to have one of my Malefic monsters in play at any time as a result of our combined time periods."

"You're from the future?" The blond asked sceptically before he laughed aloud. "Yeah right, pull the other one, it has bells on it. Right Kaiba?" There was no instantaneous answer to his mockery that he had been so certain of receiving.

Instead the brunette seemed to hesitate before finding his tongue. "Actually Joey, I wouldn't be so fast to dismiss his claims." He'd had a moment to think it over and now understood how they'd ended up where they were. "Who'd you think brought us here? It was him." _But for what purpose?_

"Okay, since when did _you_ start believing in such things?"

"Since I went back in time and accidentally erased my brother from existence."

"You say that so calmly, yet un-sarcastically, that I'm scared I may almost believe you."

"Are you two just planning on talking amongst yourselves?" Paradox snapped impatiently as he set a card to end his turn. "It's your move _Kaiba_."

"What was that you were saying about a pathetic hand?" Seto asked mockingly at the turn his opponent had just taken that had been no better than his partner's. "Let me show you how a pro duels." He drew his card.

"First I play 'Graceful Charity' which lets me draw three cards providing that I discard two." The cards drawn were 'Vorse Raider', 'Kaiser Sea Horse' and 'Melody of Awakening Dragon'. _Perfect!_ He discarded the two monsters. "Next I summon 'Lord of Dragons' to the field, and then activate the spell card 'Melody of Awakening Dragon'."

The dragon lord appeared on the field first before a flute then materialised in his left hand that was placed to his lips and blown to sound a melodious tune.

"By discarding one monster from my hand, my dragon lord now has the ability to call two dragons from my deck to my hand." He discarded 'Spear Dragon' to the graveyard and selected a pair of his most faithful monsters. "And if you think I'm done there then you are mistaken, for I also hold the spell card 'Flute of Summoning Dragon' which I play to call forth the two 'Blue Eyes White Dragons' that just joined my hand."

Another flute appeared this time in the right hand of the dragon lord, and the sound of a bugle could be heard calling the two graceful beasts into battle. Simultaneously the two Blue Eyes made their grand appearance onto the field in a blaze of light and hoovered directly in front of their master.

"Awesome combo!" Joey cheered. "I'm sure glad that it's not me currently facing you right now."

A self-satisfied grin was present on Seto's face as he stared intimidatingly at Paradox; he wasn't done yet. "Oh, and since this is a paired battle, my flute also has the added bonus of allowing my partner to summon a dragon from his hand too." He glanced sideways to his right. "Do you have one?"

"Does this answer your question?" Joey wasted no time in placing down the monster card onto his playing field. "Go Red Eyes!"

The 'Red Eyes Black Dragon' came forth from its card in a blast of darkness and resided on the blond's side of the field.

_We have this duel in the bag!_ The grin on Seto's face grew even wider at the sight of Wheeler's signature monster. There was no way that their challenger was claiming victory over them with their unstoppable team. "Now Paradox, prepare to be defeated as my dragons annihilate your life points!"

Both of the Blue Eyes drew back their heads as they each gathered a ball of energy in their jaws to send out across the field as a powerful white lightning blast.

"Not so fast! I activate my 'Negate Attack'." Paradox flipped the trap card he had laid to stop the two dragons in their tracks as it cancelled out all attacks he would have otherwise received that turn. "Looks like you'll have to wait a little longer before trying to even make a dent in my life points."

"Trust me, I'm a patient man." Seto sneered in response as he set a trap card down on his side before ending his turn. "I can wait."

Laughter erupted from onboard the floating platform as the next turn was started. "You two are so predictable that you fell straight into my trap." After the draw phase Paradox took and held two cards from his hand so that their backs were still displayed to his victims. "Witness the true purpose of this duel and say goodbye to your precious monsters."

The cards were flipped and shown to be blank before they each then drained and captured a dragon from the original owners' cards.

"My Red Eyes, where'd it go?!" Joey demanded as he looked at his now empty field and card.

"It's right here in my hand." Paradox taunted as he waved his two latest prizes. "Along with the Blue Eyes, and here they'll remain as part of my deck from this day forward."

"You'll regret stealing those cards." Seto growled through clenched teeth, furious at having one of his dragons taken from him. _Nobody, touches my Blue Eyes!_

"I highly doubt so." Paradox smirked at the death glare he received. "In fact, why don't we see how well they obey their new master?" He dramatically held the Blue Eyes card before him. "By discarding the original monster into the graveyard it allows me to summon the Malefic version from my hand; so come forth 'Malefic Blue Eyes White Dragon'!"

No sooner had the first card found itself in the graveyard, the second thunderously appeared on the challenger's side of the field with a monstrous roar. It could have quite easily been mistaken for its 'pure' version as it matched both attack and defence though its appearance was altered by the addition of a black mask to its face and reenforced armoured wings.

"What have you done to my dragon?" Seto gasped in horror and even took a half step back as he stared upwards at the abomination before him.

"Did you not hear me before? This is _my_ dragon now, and its hungry. Your 'Lord of Dragons' should fulfil its appetite quite nicely as well as devour a chunk of your life points."

The 'Malefic Blue Eyes White Dragon' began its attack and the CEO made the heart wrenching decision to flip over his trap card. "You've activated my 'Attack Guidance Armour' which I equip to my remaining Blue Eyes."

Both of the dragons clashed as the Malefic version focused on the chest plate that bound itself around the original; their attacks evenly balanced to cancel out and destroy one another.

Another angered and hateful look was sent Paradox's way. "I would rather see my dragons destroyed than be used to carry out your evil bidding."

"_My_ evil bidding?!" He scoffed in reply whilst setting a trap on his field. "These words coming from the man who helped aid the rise of Duel Monsters into its glory days and provide the catalyst for my world's destruction?" A heinous glare of golden eyes met the brunette's stare. "Losing your precious dragon will be the least of your worries."

"My move!" Joey stated forcefully as he aimed to divert attention from his duel partner. He was well aware of how much the man beside him treasured the three dragons and wouldn't allow anyone,- except himself,- to ridicule him for it.

_Aww, not again! _The card drawn had been the spell card 'Graceful Dice'. _With no playable monsters_ _I can't do anything this turn! But I gotta do something … maybe I could bluff my way out by making him think I've a trap up my sleeve? … _"I set a card and end my turn."

"Looks like the history books lie." Paradox sneered in disgust at the second pitiful move made by one of the _'supposed'_ greatest duellists to have ever lived. "I was expecting a much better fight from the both of you, but _you_ are _pathetic_." He drew his card and played it right away. "I summon 'Malefic Parallel Gear' in attack mode and end my turn."

"You call us pathetic?" Seto jeered as he viewed the monster that appeared on the field. "Your little pile of gears has zero attack or defence points."

"Then go ahead and attack me, it is your move after all."

"Oh don't worry, I will." He assured as he added a card to his hand. "I'll take you down and our dragons _will_ be reclaimed."

"One thing history didn't lie about is your arrogance; do you ever stop being so full of yourself?"

Seto clenched his teeth in anger as he failed to stop himself from being provoked. _I'll show this punk who he's dealing with! _The spell card he'd drawn was slammed into his playing field. "I play 'Card of Demise', this allows me to draw five cards on the condition that my whole hand is discarded in five turns time." He looked at the five cards which included his third 'Blue Eyes White Dragon'. _Great, that'll work nicely._

"Now I offer up my 'Lord of Dragons' as a tribute in order to summon 'Kaiser Glider' to the field." The dragon lord vanished and a bronze coloured dragon appeared in a burst of flames. "Its summoning also allows me to special summon 'Clone Dragon'. Watch as it copies 'Kaiser Glider' in every way to give me two powerful monsters at my beck and call."

The small foetus-like dragon uncurled itself. With its eyes glowing brightly at the sight of the other dragon and it transformed to mimic the other perfectly. _Their ability of not being vulnerable to monsters with the same attack strength means I'm perfectly safe if he should chose to summon some monstrous version of Red Eyes. Question is, should I attack? _

"Attack me if you dare." Paradox taunted as he saw the inquisitive look from the CEO.

_No, that's exactly what he wants! _Seto argued and reasoned with himself as he tried to think ahead to what trap it was that had been set by placing the monster with zero points in attack position and leaving a clear opening to the other's life points. _He's baiting me to follow through with a reckless move after having gotten me so wound up. Well I'm not going to bite. It's bound to only put me at a disadvantage and that's a risk I just can't afford to take. _He glanced sideways to his right. _Sorry Wheeler, but I'm going to have to leave it to you to trigger his trap ... _"I end my turn."

_WHAT! _Joey gapped in disbelief. _Why didn't he attack?_ _A strike from each monster to combine a total of 4800 damage would have wiped that jerk clean out. Surely he doesn't believe that there's any real threat in that face down card over there? It's nothing more that a bluff, I can feel it!_

"What's wrong Kaiba, lost your nerve?" Paradox taunted him once again knowing that the mind game he'd engaged the other man in had been successful as the duel would have now been over had he ordered the two bronze dragons to attack.

"Like I said earlier; I'm a patient man. Having to wait a little while longer for victory _isn't_ going to faze me."

Paradox drew his card and a malevolent smirk appeared on his face. "I'm afraid victory shall not favour you this time." He flashed his newly drawn card,- 'Malefic Red Eyes Black Dragon',- and gave a little chortle at the thought of what was next to come. "I'm well aware of the defence you have in play to protect yourself from this card, which is why I shall use it in my next effort towards your partner."

"And here I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

"You're not so lucky I'm afraid." He shot back at the smart-aleck remark the blond had made.

"But I am." Joey grinned widely. "You stated earlier that you're only permitted to play one of your monsters on your side of the field, which means that you can't summon that inferior Red Eyes you're holding."

"I don't plan on summoning this monster. Instead I shall tribute summon it,- straight from my hand,- along with my 'Malefic Parallel Gear' on the field to be able to synchro-summon 'Malefic Paradox Dragon' in its place."

Both cards were sent to the graveyard and a black whirlwind appeared. The storm caused the dirt from the ground to create dust clouds and the two grounded duellists found themselves buffeted by the gusty blasts.

"W-what the hell is a s-synchro-summon?" Joey spoke for both of them as he shielded his vision from the dirt whilst witnessing the dragon materialised from the dying gale.

Steel-like armour with spikes protruding from its back, wings and knees covered the majority of the black scaly beast. Around its dark face of red glowing eyes was a mane of golden spikes that were as sharp as the claws it bared, and its tail looked like a triangular mace.

_I've seen some dragons in my time, but that one IS terrifying!_ Seto swallowed the lump forming at the back of his throat. If the stranger was capable of summoning something so monstrously powerful with such ease then what chance did the two of them stand?

_8888888_

**A/N: So there you have it, the first part of the duel. I'm not a duellist (I stopped collecting and playing the cards around the time GX was released) and worked really hard on trying to make this as believable as possible, including making and playing it out in real time to make sure the card count, play and turns all came together correctly. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. **

**KG**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

"Faster Becky! Faster; _gotta_ go faster!"

"Will _somebody_ shut him up!" Rebeca snapped as the captain repeatedly chanted whilst drumming his hands on the back of her chair in his attempt to try and encourage her to speed up the work she was doing. "He's very distracting!" She watched the Welshman come to her aid and then returned to the vigorous typing on her keyboard.

"Look!" Ianto steered his lover closer to the TV screen still broadcasting from the Olympic stadium. "Spandex and athletes, you like those..."

"I'd like it more if Seto was back here safe and sound." Jack whined as he tried to break free from the firm hold placing his arms by his side.

"And he will be." Ianto held tighter and made reassuring eye contact with the agitated man. "Just give Becky the time she needs to complete the programme. If you carry on rushing her then she's bound to make a mistake."

"Oi, I heard that!" Rebecca sneered mockingly with a narrowed green eyed glare that was magnified by her spectacles as she glanced at the Welshman for his remark. She had never made a mistake whilst under the pressure of working for Torchwood and didn't plan on doing so now.

_88888888888888888888888888888888_

After having a moment of doubt caused by the unknown synchro-summoning strategy, both duellists turned to face each other as the monstrous roar of the 'Malefic Paradox Dragon' sounded out once more.

"We _can _do this." Seto spoke confidently trying to boost his partner's moral as well as his own. He received a nod of acknowledgement and together they braced themselves for their opponent's next phase.

"Now my dragon, attack Wheeler directly!" Paradox ordered his assault and obediently his Malefic beast spouted a beam from its terrifying jaws towards the blond.

"I activate 'Scapegoat'!" Joey declared and four fluffy pastel coloured goats sprang up like a barrier on his field, one of them vanishing in a burst of pixels at having taken the force of the dragon's attack.

"You got lucky." Paradox sneered at having his move blocked and his turn came to an end.

"Actually no, I'll think you'll find that was strategically played right from the start." Joey jeered as he drew his card and a grin appeared on his face. "But if you want to have a taste of my luck then I guess I could comply; it'd only be rude of me not to."

"You've worked on your taunting." Seto praised his partner with a grin.

"Why _thank you_ for noticing." He smirked back.

"ENOUGH!" Paradox yelled at the top of his voice. The two men were suppose to be quaking with fear and intimidation, not chatting cheerfully amongst themselves as though they were having fun. "Play your puny card already!"

"Oh, you _did not_ just call my 'Panther Warrior' puny!" Joey summoned his monster to the field.

"He does have a point." Seto commented as he stared bemusedly at the caped anthropomorphic panther standing next to the three fuzzy goats. "It's 2000 attack against his dragon's 4000..."

"I'm not done yet!" He spoke fervently as he placed a spell card onto his playing field. "Next I play 'Graceful Dice'. Whatever number the die lands on is then timed by 100 and added to my monster's attack and defence points."

A blue die appeared and was cast high in the air. It fell and rolled across the ground to land on a 6. The warrior's attack and defence points adjusted to 2600 and 2200 accordingly.

"Oh yeah, now he has an attack of 2600. So I'll continue by playing the spell 'Extra Boost' which will increase his attack points yet again by half of his defence points, and since they were also boosted by 'Graceful Dice' that equals another 1100 to bring his attack to 3700."

_I think he might just pull this off! _Seto thought to himself as the warrior's attack points increased again. _Come on Wheeler, you can do it!_

"That still leaves you 300 short to even match the power of my Paradox dragon!"

"And that's were my trap card comes in to play; activate, 'Skull Dice'!" A red die was cast into the air. "Whatever number the die lands on is then timed by 100 and deducted from your monster's attack points."

_Please Lady Luck, don't abandon me now! _The die landed on a 3. "Okay, I'm not gonna lie, it could have been better in order to dent your life points, but my 'Panther Warrior' still gets to wipe out your dragon."

The attack points of 'Malefic Paradox Dragon' dropped to 3700. Seto couldn't help but notice that their opponent didn't seem fazed in the slightest. _I guess we'll soon see what trap it is that you have set; His gallant effort will not have been in vain._

"Panther Warrior, attack!" Another goat disappeared as a tribute to meet the requirements needed in order for his monster to strike out with its sword that then enabled it to destroy both the opposition and itself.

"You triggered my 'Malefic Paradigm Shift' trap card." Paradox laughed as his monster was sent to the graveyard. "When 'Malefic Paradox Dragon' is destroyed I can pay a mere half of my life points in order to special summon 'Malefic Truth Dragon' from my deck." His life points dropped to 2000 and his trump began to make its appearance on the field.

For a moment the purplish-pink atmosphere of the Malefic World went black before a mini supernova exploded to relight the starry surroundings. The shock waves from the blast caused a couple of the nearby trees to fall down and their tremors caused the crevice edge to crumble several feet closer towards the two duelists. A gigantic golden armoured dragon with ruby scales set on its stomach had appeared and loomed high in the sky above. Its wings would have easily spanned the length of a sports playing field, its tail was split in two and there were spikes set around a dorsal fin that flowed far beyond its body in the air behind it.

"Whoa!" Joey gasped at having never seen anything so huge and powerful as the information on his duel disk indicated that the beast had 5000 attack and defence points.

"Nice going _Wheeler_!"

"HOW was I supposed to know that he had something like that?!"

_You fucking idiot!_ Seto's mind screamed at himself as he clenched his fist so tightly that his nails almost broke the skin on the palm of his hand. _He_ _played you! If you hadn't heeded on the side of caution, and just attacked whilst you had the chance, then his trap would have been worthless! Now you have some serious redeeming to do in order to win this duel! At least he was skilful enough to do half the work for you!_

The blond fumbled for the trap card in his hand and was extremely thankful for still having two of his scapegoats. "I set a card and end my turn."

"I believe it's my turn." Paradox drew his card. "Now then Kaiba, how well will your dragons hold up against mine?"

_Here it comes! _Seto braced himself for the devastating attack as he knew neither one of his dragons was capable enough of protecting him from the serious oncoming damage.

'Malefic Truth Dragon' attacked as it shot out a red blast that obliterated one of the inferior bronze coloured dragons and the remainder of its attack points were deducted from the brunette's life points that rapidly tumbled down to 1400.

"Not very well it seems; you just lost over half of your life points from one attack. _And _it doesn't stop there as my dragon's ability means that once one of my opponent's monsters is destroyed, they all are,- including your partner's goat tokens,- and inflict a further 800 points of damage for each one to their respective player."

The second 'Kaiser Glider' and the two remaining 'Scapegoats' vanished as they all exploded into a burst of pixels. Seto's life points fell to a dangerously low 600 and Joey's to 2400.

"Both of your life points are low." Paradox sneered as he set two trap cards on his field and ended his turn. "Neither of you will survive another attack from my trump monster."

"You seem so sure about that; I can't wait to prove you wrong." Seto calmly and confidently drew his card before playing the spell he was already holding. "I activate 'Enemy Controller' which lets me select and use one of your monsters until my end phase. Guess I have no choice but to take your 'Malefic Truth Dragon'."

A huge gaming control pad materialised above the CEO's head and its wire extended up and across the field to plug itself into the gigantic golden dragon. The beast now switched sides to join its temporary owner.

"Fortunately for you, because of the command option I've chosen for my controller, I'm prevented from using your dragon as a tribute to summon one of my own monsters. But no matter, this'll be your final moment all the same." He wasn't going to be tricked by another bluff of a trap by the set cards on the field. If they did actually happen to hold a nasty and destructive surprise then it wouldn't be him and his monster taking the hit.

Wide jaws opened and emitted down a red blast that took aim at Paradox directly.

"I had anticipated such a comeback from a legend like you, which is way I set this very _'classic' _card." One of the traps was flipped over to reveal 'Call of the Haunted'. "This card has no effect on my Malefic monsters, so just like you I'm left with no choice but to use my opponent's own monster against them as I bring back the Blue Eyes I acquired and discarded earlier."

An eerie mist emerged from the gravestone on the card and it swiftly took the form of the 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' to buffer the oncoming assault from the gigantic dragon.

"Don't play mind games with _ME, _Paradox!" Seto gave a ferocious snarl. "I stated earlier that I would rather see them destroyed than be used in your hands. Hiding yourself behind my beloved dragon isn't going to save you; there's still a 2000 point difference which is _exactly_ what's needed to wipe out your life points."

The deadly blast dispersed the white dragon into a million tiny pixels and sent it back to the graveyard once more before it continued and enveloped the whole of the floating platform. Once the light cleared Paradox still remained standing and his life points now at 3000 thanks to the effect of his second trap card.

_Poor Kaiba._ Joey thought himself. _He was forced to destroy his Blue Eyes for a second time and that jerk's still standing!_

"You don't get rid of me that easily."

"Ditto."Seto stated blankly, not at all surprised by the miraculous survival of his opponent. _So_ _'Aegis of Gaia' was your other trap card._ He mused at the recognition of the trap that had been used. _It may have awarded you an additional 3000 life points on its activation, but due to its repercussive effect they will be easily taken away again if the card now leaves the field... _"I set a card and end my turn."

With the end phase declared 'Enemy Controller' disappeared and 'Malefic Truth Dragon' was returned to its owner.

"You two accepted my challenge quite submissively." Paradox stated in another attempt to toy with his victims.

"It's not like you gave us much of a choice after bringing us here." Seto replied.

"Still, you failed to question my motive..."

"Look, you've already made it pretty clear that you're after our dragons. We don't need to hear the rest of your life story, so quit stalling and just make your next damn move!"

"And you said that you were a patient man." Paradox smirked, highly amused that the brunette seemed so keen to speed things up and beckon defeat that little bit closer. "I hope you're able to wait that little bit longer whilst I destroy your duel buddy."

_Ha, that's what you think! _Seto glanced sideways to Joey's facedown card. _If he's set the trap that I think he has, he'll make it through this next turn and then Paradox , then you will see just what the two of us can accomplish. _

"You know, _'destroy'_ is such a strong word; are you sure you can live up to its definition?"

"Attack!" Paradox snapped the order to his 'Malefic Truth Dragon' after being aggravated by the blond's taunt. Why weren't these men fearing him? What was it keeping them so strong willed?

As the blast came closer Joey flipped the lone card on his playing field. "You activated my 'Nutrient Z' trap card. Now, since I'm about to take more than 2000 points worth of damage, this card increases my life points by 4000 additional points first. " The LP counter on his duel disk rose to 6400 and then subtracted the dragon's attack of 5000 to rest at 1400 remaining life points. "Looks like I'm still in the game!"

"Not for much longer." Paradox shot back at his rather smug looking opponent. "It's your move."

"About time." Joey smirked as he made his drew. _Yes, that'll do! … _"I set a card and end my turn."

"How did you _ever _manage to become one of the greatest duelists?" Paradox sneered in disgust. So far this duel all he'd practically seen the blond do was set cards. "Defence will only get you so far, where's your offence Wheeler?"

Seto was beginning to wonder the same thing, though he knew that his duel partner was more than capable of pulling a trump in a tight jam. _You're a far better duellist than I ever gave you credit for … I believe in you Joey._

"Oh it's coming Paradox, just you wait and see!"

"Ha, I doubt it!" He began his turn and drew his card. "Now Kaiba, let's finally put you out of your misery and have my dragon attack your life points directly."

_Bring it on!_

"This duel was _never _just about commandeering your dragons." There was a dangerous and unnerving look in Paradox's eyes. Z-one had doubted him, but now he was going to prove that he was more than able in carrying out his task against the CEO whose duelling strategies he'd spent endless hours studying in order to make sure he had what it took to overcome him. "Enjoy your comeuppance for the part you played in aiding my world's destruction! Without your interference my people now stand a chance of survival; there'll be no Zero Reverse and every other disaster that followed in its wake!"

"Zero Reverse?" It meant nothing to Seto. _What the hell am I being accused of?!_

"So _now_ you're interested in hearing my backstory? ... THOUGH! 'Malefic Truth Dragon', strike him down for his crime!"

Once more the gigantic golden dragon let loose a fiery red blast from its jaws that it sent directly down towards its target.

"KAIBA!" Joey screamed looking on in horror as the attack hit his partner head on.

88888888888888888888888888888888

The sun shone high and brightly in the sky above Domino Central Park. Down on the grounds below people basked in its warmth as they sunbathed, held picnics or took part in varies activities expected in such a public area. Cyclists, skaters and dog walkers all shared the pathways weaving throughout the park. Youths played soccer, frisbee or just generally hung out on the grassy fields, and the laughter of children rang out in the designated play areas scattered here and there.

Anathema Kaiba and her younger brother had spent close to an hour in the sandpit building a several storey high sandcastle. It was a task she'd have managed to complete ages ago had the toddler not fallen and crushed her hard work multiple times in the process. "No Mokie!" She gasped as she quickly took hold of his arm to stop him from dive bombing their masterpiece and devised a way to make sure it now stayed in one piece. "It's almost done but I need you to put the flag on the turret for me."

"I do flag?" He spoke excitedly.

The little girl nodded and then turned to face her adoptive mother and aunt who where seated in the shade of a nearby tree. "Mom, can you get out the flag that we made?"

"Of course, but you have to come and get it." Kisara called back. She placed down her book on the ground beside her and then got up to move closer towards the stroller in order to retrieve the requested item from the storage area underneath the child's seat.

"Ha! If only Seto had been here to hear that; he always likes to boast about how your kids have the best manners, yet she forgot to say 'please'..."

"Oh, Naoko." Kisara chuckled knowing that there hadn't been any maliciousness behind her friend's words. "Anathema's only a little girl, and Seto _does not_ boast..."

A snort of preposterousness escaped from the other woman who'd always despised her friend's husband.

"... well, no more than any other parent would ..." There was a sharp pain inside Kisara's forehead and with a wince she rose to her feet, stepping backwards with the flag clenched in her hand. "Ow!"

"Kissy?" Naoko leapt to her friend's aid and helped steady her. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Nothing." The silvery haired woman assured as she breathed deeply and the pain gradually eased. "I'm fine."

"No you're not. You don't say 'ow' for no reason." The dark haired woman argued back her concern with a stern face that seemed to soften as she went on to ask, "Was it like the migraines from before?"

"I hope not!" Kisara gasped in fear since she'd assumed she had long grown out of the attacks from her youth as she'd not suffered with any for many years now.

"It's okay." Naoko told her. "I was there for you then, and I'm still here for you now." She thought back to their time at the orphanage. How she had been the only one to pay any attention to her friend's condition since the rest of the place was more concerned with some stupid ongoing tournament. It still made her mad at the memory of comforting the younger girl who'd been left screaming in agony whilst the rest of the kids held excited discussions about the lengthy Battle City duel they had just seen …

"Mom?" Anathema asked as she now stood by her side with her little brother's hand held in hers. "Do you feel okay?"

"I'm fine Baby." She smiled and crouched down to hold out the hand-made flag that sported a pencil drawn picture of a green eyed white dragon. "Now which of you is going to...?"

"ME, _me_, me!" Mokuba jumped up and down with two chubby outstretched hands. He was handed the flag and began to toddle back towards the sandpit.

The little girl remained where she was and flung her arms around her mom. "Thanks, you're the best!"

Kisara returned the tight embrace and smiled up towards her friend who just rolled her eyes in response at having received the boasting proud-parent grin from the mannerist expression displayed in the form of a hug.

Anathema carefully broke free from the hold and raced after her brother only to see him trip and fall face first into the mountain of sand that had, until a moment ago, been a carefully constructed castle.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

_I did it! _Paradox celebrated as he watched the blast from his 'Malefic Truth Dragon' leave behind a cloud of dust in its wake. _See Z-one, I said that we needed to rid the world of more than just Duel Monsters, and yet you doubted me!_

_Kaiba. _Joey's eyes and throat burned mournfully at the thought of the fallen duellist as he watched the dust settle. He forced himself to look on though all he wanted to do was turn away as he didn't want to see … "Whoa, Kaiba!?"

In the cloud's clearing Seto stood with a smirk; tall, strong and more confident than ever.

"HOW?!" The challenger demanded angrily.

"Draining shield." The CEO stated the trap he had activated. It was a card he'd only recently added to his deck. _I didn't get to become a champion by being completely predicable._ "This card negates an attack and then increases my life points by the attacking monster's strength." The LP display on his duel disk had shot up from 600 to 5600 life points, and the grin on his face grew wider. "Thanks for the life increase."

"Don't you _EVER_ scare me like that again, _Rich-boy_!" Joey shouted as he clenched at the pounding heart in his chest.

"You were worried?" Seto laughed only to stop as he saw the genuine concern displayed in the anxious brown eyes. He swiftly turned back to their opponent. "I don't know what it is I'm being excused of this time, but it stops _now_ Paradox! The future is _yours_ and what _you_ make it; don't go seeking vengeance against those you blame for your misfortune. Just rise above it and move on. Trust me, I speak from _plenty _of experience."

"He's hell bent on trying to kill us and you're offering him counselling? You truly aren't the Kaiba I remember."

"You'd both be singing a different tune if _you_ had to endure the apocalyptic future that I come from." Paradox snarled. He glared hatefully at the suited man. "It's your move."

"You come from an apocalyptic future?"

"Don't encourage him!" Seto snapped at the blond as he drew his card eagerly with plans to end all this nonsense. He didn't fancy a stroll down Maniac Memory Lane.

"But I wanna hear more." Joey contested as the two of them became locked in stares. Surprisingly the other backed down whilst grumbling something inaudible. He turned back to one who had brought them here. "How'd it happen?"

"It all starts with Duel Monsters..." Paradox began to explain but was rudely interrupted by the CEO.

"Are you trying to tell us that the world comes to an end because of a card game?"

"Yes." It was the simplest answer yet there was so much more to explain, something he wouldn't have the chance to do now that the hysterical laughter had started. "Only someone so _ignorant_ would laugh at such a serious matter!"

"Sorry, but I have to agree that _it does_ sound a little farfetched." Joey tried to explain the reason for the other man's outburst whilst successfully holding back the urge to do the same.

"Only a little?" The brunette asked wiping the tears from his eyes and regaining his composure.

"It happens, which is why …!"

"Hold on!" Seto interrupted once more. "Let me get this straight. _You_ travel back trough time to _challenge_ duellists to the _same _game that you say is guilty of _destroying _your world? Do you not see the hypocrisy?"

"No, I see poetic justice!" Paradox shot back at the man clearly mocking him and his cause. "Once I have gathered an army of the most iconic and strongest dragons I shall then summon them to destroy the very man who created Duel Monsters. All this before the game hits its hight of popularity is guaranteed to bring _me_ and _my people_ a brighter future!"

"Not on my watch!" Seto growled as he glared at the crazed madman before him and continued with his turn. "I play 'Spell Sanctuary' which allows us all to select and add one spell card from our decks to our hands and treat that card as if it were a _quick-play spell_. Do choose wisely now with the generous gift I've just given you." He glance sideways to his right. _Please figure it out and don't prove me wrong for placing faith in you._

_What the heck is he planning?_ Joey mused as he looked through his deck. _Rich-boy obviously wants me to draw a particular card, but which one? _He studied the duel set up in the hopes he could decipher what was being required of him. _I have my set trap, Kaiba currently has his spell,- that I'm fairly sure remains on the field once played,- and that jerk up there has a monster, field card and continuous trap with repercussions … I got it! _The choice was made and added to his hand just as he caught sight of the sideward gaze and gave an acknowledging nod.

_Good man!_ A smirk curved the brunette's lips as he drew the spell card he'd require for his own 'predicable' combo. "I set two cards and end my turn."

"Do you honestly think that I'm naïve enough to fall for one of your signature trap combos?" The challenger sneered down in disgust from onboard his floating machine.

"I don't know, are you?"

_No because I know what you're planing. Once I've finished with Wheeler you plan to rid me of my dragon and life points with 'Ring of Destruction'. Well, it won't work Kaiba, because I too have just drawn 'Ring of Defence'. There's no way out of this for either of you. _Paradox drew his card before issuing his order. "Now 'Malefic Truth Dragon', attack Wheeler's life points!"

Joey gave a mocked yawn as the red blast formed and idly revealed his trap card once it began its way to him. "You activated my trap card; 'Chasm of Spikes'. It not only negates your dragon's attack and destroys it, but it also inflicts a quarter of its attack points as damage to your life points."

The gigantic beast dispelled into a showering rain of tiny gold pixels that fell down over the two partnered duellists and evaporated into nothingness before they even touched the ground.

"Guess again. My dragon may be gone but its special effect voids the second half of your trap so my life points remain untouched."

"Meh, whatever." The blond shrugged. "Next I play a spell card..."

"You _can't_ play a spell card, it's still my turn!"

"That may be so, but _YOU _attacked _ME_ which clearly allows _me_ to play quick-play spells in combo with the trap _you_ triggered."

"But that spell _isn't_ a quick-play!"

"Normally no, but since it was drawn from the effect of Rich-boy's 'Spell Sanctuary' last turn, I think you'll find that on this occasion, _it is_." He placed 'Giant Trunade' into his duel disk's playing field. "Now all spell and trap cards on the field are returned to their owners' hands."

"Oh no, Wheeler! You've_ ruined _my perfect trap combo!" Seto very over-dramatically mocked the move he'd foreseen as his two set cards and played spell card were returned to his hand and he waited gleefully as any moment now Paradox's own trap would wipe clean his remaining points.

"I play 'Ring of Defence' to protect my life points."

_What?! _Both men watched as the huge green shielded fan appeared to intercept the damage.

"You'll pay for that move!" Paradox growled at having been played and outsmarted by the pair of them working together. _Very clever, keeping my attention focused on Kaiba's jeering whilst that underdog remained unnoticed; I should have never underestimated him. _"I'll reset my trap card..."

"You _can't_ re-play either of the returned cards until your next turn!" Joey pointed out his card's effect of not allowing the returned cards to be replayed in the same turn and hoped that his duel partner wasn't blaming him for the unfortunate turn their plan had taken. He gave a quick glance at the brunette and saw an equally confused face.

"It matters not, I still have 3000 life points. I end my turn."

"So now it's my turn." The blond nervously drew his card to add to the two already in his hand. _I can't afford to mess this up for either of us... All right, now that's what I'm talking about! It may not be enough to wipe that jerk out but it'll sure help._ "First I summon 'Gearfried the Iron Knight' to the field in attack mode, and then I play the ritual card 'Reslease Restraint' in order to special summon 'Gearfried the Swordsman' in his place."

The summoned knight appeared in a flash of light and then began to transform into the more powerful swordsman who's attack points were 2600. "Now Gearfried, attack Paradox whilst he's defenceless!"

"I may have no monsters on the field but that _does not_ make me defenceless!" He held up the quick-play spell from his hand. "I play 'Malefic Divide' which allows me to bring back one of my Malefic monsters from the graveyard for one turn. Luckily for you, my Truth Dragon is barred from the effects of this card, but my Paradox Dragon will suffice as it rids you of your monster and remaining life points!"

"What?!" Joey watched in fear as the monstrous dragon returned to the field in a gust of dark wind and clashed with his swordsman. The shockwave from their encounter and Gearfried's defeat blasted the duellist backwards through the air across the grassy plain as his life points tumbled down to 0. "Aargggh!"

"Joey!" Seto called out in concern as he watched his duel partner crash down between two fallen trees.

"I'm alright." The blond assured as he pulled himself up onto one of the felled tree trunks. His back ached and feet were sore as bare soles pushed against ground and bark. Looking behind him he saw just how fortuitous he was as the crevice edge was less than twenty feet away. _Any further and that could have easily been the end of me!_

"Count yourself lucky that my 'Malefic World' wasn't in play." Paradox sneered as his dragon returned back to the graveyard and he drew to start his own turn."If it had been then you'd be dead now as it would have claimed your soul. _YOU_ on the other hand Kaiba won't be so lucky as my field card now comes back into play."

_I knew it!_ Seto told himself as the purplish-pink atmosphere returned once more. _That card does act in a similar way to the Shadow Realm! _

"And I think you know what this card is." He reset 'Aegis of Gaia'. "Now it's time that I finally discard this Red Eyes to the graveyard in order to summon 'Malefic Red Eyes Black Dragon' to the field, and thanks to your _ex_-partner's last move, you're wide open for a direct attack."

With a thunderous roar the Malefic version of Red Eyes appeared on the field. A white mask tainted its face and just like the Malefic Blue Eyes it also sported a matching set of reinforced armoured wings. It let loose its attack that speedily flew directly towards Seto.

_No Red Eyes; You can't!_ Joey pleaded in his mind with the dragon, hoping that the bond with his own might affect the Malefic version and stop its attack. It didn't.

"Go 'Ring of Defence', shield my life points!"

As Paradox expected, the huge green shielded fan blocked his attack. "I end my turn."

_Joey's out of this duel and safe so that's half my job done. _Seto told himself as he looked at the four cards in his hand and contemplated his next move. He drew his card and smirked. _ And we all know that I'm not the kind of person to do things by halves... _"I play a monster in defence mode..."

"Whilst I activate my 'Aegis of Gaia' trap card." The additional 3000 life points brought Paradox's total up to 6000.

"... and set two cards." _If I won't let you use my dragons, what makes you think I'll let you use his? _A huge smirked curved the CEO's lips. "Your move."

There was an uneasy look to Paradox's face as he stared at his still confident looking victim and drew his card.

"Trap activate; 'Ring of Defence'!"

"That move does not surprise me." He lied in response to having 2400 deducted from each of their life points as the explosive ring destroyed his dragon. _Kaiba would never activate that without some kind of defence in place!_

_What is he doing?!_ Joey asked himself as he watched the LP counters fall to 3200 and 3600 as a result of the reckless move that had been made. _Why would he risk losing so many life points? What possible strategy could he have left? Unless...? Did Rich-boy do that for me? So I wouldn't have to see Red Eyes used for evil?_

"What's wrong Paradox?" Seto taunted as he saw the challenger's bemused face and felt the dominance of wills returned to him from having made the unexpected move. "Are you getting scared now that you don't have an evil monster to attack and defend for you?"

"Actually, you just did me a favour." Paradox leered back calmly. "Now I have the opportunity to show you the dragon that I acquired prior to this duel. All I have to do is discard it from my extra deck to be able to summon its counterpart." He placed a card into the graveyard and then played the one he held. "Come forth 'Malefic Stardust Dragon'!"

Rising from out of the shadows a light blue coloured dragon with a tri-pronged tail and sapphire orbs imbedded on his chest and shoulders appeared. Like the other Malefic versions that had been summoned this duel it to had a black mask covering its face,- that didn't quite cover it all the way down its long narrow trunk-like snout,- reenforced wings as well as a half-covering chest plate and spiked knee guards. Its roar was more of a screech that filled the air but still sent shivers down the CEO's spine.

"It doesn't look so tough." He mocked to keep himself from floundering and in control of his sanguinity. "Aw look, it even has _knee pads_ to protect itself when I knock it down."

"Mock my dragon all you like but it will still bring about your downfall! Attack his face down card!"

A bright white narrow beam shot out of the dragon's mouth.

"You've just attacked my 'Giant Germ' equipped with 'Crush Card Virus'!"

The defending nebulous blob-like monster disappeared and the trap card flipped over ready to infect the opponent's deck and rid him of all ability to play any more powerful monsters.

"Yet another signature combo that I came prepared for." Paradox stated as he played the quick-play spell from his hand. "I activate 'Trap Disposal' which allows me to null the effect of your trap and turn it into an equip card."

Seto gritted his teeth in frustration of having the unknown spell card played to foil his latest attempt to bring the other man down. _No matter; I can still do this!_

"Wait, what's this?" Paradox's brows rose with feint surprise as the trap-turned-equip card stuck itself to one of the feet of 'Malefic Stardust Dragon'. "Looks like my dragon is attracting junk to itself; just like its previous master."

Whatever dig it was that had been made about the dragon's original owner Seto was more than sure that it had been loved and treasured just as much as he did his own Blue Eyes. _Speaking of which..._ "The effect of my 'Giant Germ' summons another two from my deck to take its place." Two more blobby nebulous appeared on his side of the field.

"It's still not enough to beat me." The challenger jeered as he set his last two cards.

"Not yet it isn't but I'll soon change that."

"Then go ahead, it's your move."

_You're not going to play me again Paradox; I won't fall for those two 'bluff' cards you've just set. _Seto made his draw and wasted no time in playing his faithful dragon. "I tribute both of my 'Giant Germs' so that I can summon 'Blue Eyes White Dragon' to the field." The third dragon made its grand entrance in a blaze of light. "Go Blue Eyes, show this punk what it means to hold true and pure power!"

The lightning attack obediently shot from the white dragon's mouth and hit the other dragon head on to cause it to shatter into pixels before it came to rest in the graveyard, and the difference of 500 attack points was subtracted from the opponent's life points to bring them down to 3100.

"Oh yeah, you got him on the run now!"Joey cheered for the brunette and leapt into the air excitedly only to curse his stupidity when his bare feet re-landed on the rough tree bark. _Geez, that smarts!_

"Ha!" Paradox laughed. "So you've destroyed my monster, but did you pay attention to it's load?"

_What's he talking about?_ Seto consulted his duel disk for further information to see that the altered 'Crush Card Virus' had been returned to his field and then glanced up at his beautiful dragon that had now turned a bright violet colour. "Explain!" He demanded as forcefully as he could through his shocked state.

"The virus that was attached to my 'Malefic Stardust Dragon' has now been passed on to yours and it inflicts that monster's attack points directly onto your life points."

_No! _The purple colouring drained from his Blue Eyes to form a huge ball of energy that then exploded. It sent a huge blast downwards that spread out across the ground from the CEO whose life points were rapidly raze down to 200.

_88888888888888888888888888888888_

"Mommy?"

Sat in the swaying cradle seat Mokuba watched his mother steady herself as she leaned on the swing's A-frame for support. The pain in her head had returned and the ground seemed to move and spin beneath her feet as she gasped for each breath she took.

"Kissy!" Naoko called out as she and Anathema came racing across from the other side of the playground. "That's it, I'm taking you to the hospital."

"The hospital!" The little girl exclaimed in fright as she knew that only seriously sick and ill people where taken to such a place. "Why? What's wrong with Mom?"

"Nothing's wrong." Kisara smiled sweetly and ran her fingers through Anathema's soft green hair as she tried to calm the now frightened child. She looked toward's her friend. "I'll be f… ow!" Another extremely painful throb in her head struck, this time accompanied by a vision ...

_# The two of them argued in an outburst of aghast whilst they stood in each other's arms._

"_I won't leave you!" She cried as she fought to hang on to him._

"_GO!" He shouted at her as he tried to pry her fingers from him. "Go back to that boy, back to Seth! He'll protect you until I can join you!"_

"_Don't make me go back there! You don't know what it was like! What they tried to do to me!"_

"_He saved you once and I believe that he'd do so again." _

"_No!" Tears rolled down her face and she tried to grip tighter but he managed to break free from her hold._

"_I said GO!" He pushed her with all his might and she began to fall backwards into the void.#_

Kisara felt her legs buckle and hung on to the swing's A-frame once more.

"That's it! We're going, _NOW! _You're getting weaker and paler by the minute ..."

"But what about the kids?" The silvery haired woman argued back aware that her children were showing signs of apprehension by seeing her the way she was yet didn't want them worrying about her.

"Well, we're not just going to leave them." Naoko shot back as she picked up the white scruffy haired boy from the cradle seat, despite his protesting. "They're coming with us _and_ I'll call Seto once the doctors have seen you." She didn't fancy being given an interrogation by the CEO before she at least had a couple of facts at hand that she could through back in his face if needed.

"Okay." Kisara reluctantly nodded.

Together they all left the park to make their way towards the hospital, hopeful that once there someone would be able to diagnose just what it was causing the woman's sudden pain and discomfort.

_8888888_

**Seto: KG, what are you doing?**

**KG: Tumblr *scrolls through dashboard, likes and re-blogs***

**Seto: Why? Aren't you supposed to be typing up the rest of this fic?**

**KG: … *continues to waste more time***

**Seto: Well?**

**Ianto: She's got next to no motivation.**

**Seto: I thought she'd finally gotten it back, where'd it go?**

**Ianto: She's put huge amounts of time and effort into these fics, been updating pretty regularly again since last October, has hundreds of hits on them yet not a single review. How'd you think she feels?**

**Seto: *turns to readers* Come on guys, hit her up with some feedback. The more motivated she gets, the sooner this whole saga finishes and I won't have to put up with anymore of her crap.**

**Ianto: *also to readers* And anyone who leaves a review will get one from the two of us *points to self and Seto* in return on one of their fics. (unless otherwise stated by the reviewer that they'd prefer one from KG herself instead)**

**Seto: What?! You can't be serious?**

**Ianto: I'm very serious.**

**Seto: *grumbles to self***

_8888888_

**If anyone's interested in following me on tumblr the link is in my profile ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Big thank you to FutureStar27 for leaving a review, it was greatly appreciated :)**

**Chapter Six**

"Kaiba!"

Brown eyes frantically scanned the ground where the purple blast had hit. _He's not dead, he still has 200 life points left._ Joey told himself trying to remain optimistic and keep calm.

Another dust cloud cleared to reveal the motionless CEO sprawled across the ground with his face down in the dirt.

"Are you okay Kaiba?"

No response.

"Get up!" The blond ordered but still received no response. "Damn it _Rich-boy_! Don't let this jerk beat you. You _can_ crush him, I know you can. _GET UP!_"

From up on his floating platform Paradox began to laugh at the scene playing out before him. _I'm far stronger than you anticipated Z-one. In fact you'd better watch out, cause once I've accumulated all my dragons and saved our people then I reckon your timelord deck won't stand a chance against mine!_

Becoming disheartened from hearing the chortles above, a lump began to form in Joey's throat as he still refused to give up hope in his duel partner. "Ya know, I used to think that you were a jerk. And if I'm brutally honest with myself, I still do. But I understand why. It's because you have to be. Otherwise you'd just get pushed around and cast aside in this life. If that happened then … then you'd just become a nobody ... like the rest of us." His words began to trail off into silent tears.

"You're n-not a nobody, Wheeler." Seto's voice momentarily shook in agony as he pushed himself up with both arms. "You're my friend and always have been, even when we never saw eye to eye. Only back then I was too _frigging stubborn_ to admit it!"

_I knew it! _The blond gave a sharp laughter of joy._ He cares just as much as I do!_

Thought's of their clashes during Battle City entered the CEO's mind as he continued to push himself up to his feet even though it caused him great pain to do so. "Duel Monsters brought us together and it will continue to do so for others like us in the _many_ generations to come." Ignoring his 'Spell Sanctuary',- a hindrance for him to reuse and would be discarded by 'Card of Demise's effect at the end of this turn anyway,- he went straight for his trap card and set it. "You're going down Paradox; I _won't_ let you commit mass genocide on _my_ people and future just to be able to better your own."

"I don't know where you get that conception from." Paradox sneered as he watched the other man place his remaining card into the graveyard to signal his end phase. "I only plan on eliminating the absolute minimum of those involved. Everyone else shall still live, it's only the game and those I hunt down that will cease to exist." He drew his card.

"But Duel Monsters is _more_ than just a game to the _hundreds_ upon _thousands_ of people it has touched." Seto argued back intensely as he used his own experience as an example. "It becomes _life_. Their inspiration. Passion. Livelihood, history and friendship. The _key_ to broadening their horizons and the beacon of _hope_ shining brightly in their days of darkness. To rob an individual of these things is no better than _murder_ itself."

"_NO,_ that's were you're wrong! Duel Monsters is _death_! It's nothing but _greed_, _destruction, manipulation_ and _betrayal_. Let me show you, one last time." A malevolent curve appeared on Paradox's face as turned around the card he had drawn to reveal that it was blank.

"Not again!" Joey gasped aloud.

_I'll make you pay! _Seto ground his teeth in anger as he helplessly watched a second of his beautiful dragons stolen from him. _ At least you can't use it against me since you don't have the Malefic version required in that otherwise empty hand of yours._

"I'm glad you lasted this long Seto Kaiba." The taunting continued. "Commandeering two of your legendary dragons was better than I had expected to achieve. They shall be _very_ useful in my quest. Next I'll activate my trap card, 'Malefic Selector' which allows me to draw two Malefic monsters from my deck..." He took hold of two cards and purposely showed one of them. "...including _this_, and there's no prizes for guessing what I plan to do next."

_You Bastard!_

The Blue Eyes was sent to the graveyard and the 'Malefic Blue Eyes White Dragon' took to the field once more.

"Now Kaiba, experience what it's like to lose _and die_, at the hands of the game and monster that you love and hold so very dear." The dragon readied its attack. "Any last words before your life points hit zero?"

"A few." He grumbled in response and waited patiently for the attack to be declared.

"Malefic Blue Eyes, attack the destroyer of my world!"

Seto flipped his card as the blast came near and unleashed his stored anger as he screamed aloud. "_GO TO FUCKING HELL!_"

The trap 'Magic Cylinder' activated and once the dragon's attack had been intercepted by the cannon it was then shot right back directly at Paradox's life points to slash them down to just 100.

"AW YEAH!" Joey gave another dynamic jump into the air and this time landed back on the ground without even noticing the discomfort he'd caused his soles. The force of his landing sent tiny tremors through the ground and fresh cracks started to appear near the crevice edge.

"You just won't quit!" Paradox snarled back dangerously at the furious narrowed sapphire glare emitting from his unbreakable victim."So you've managed to last one more round, but you know as well as I do that there isn't a card left in your deck that can save you now as you start your final turn."

"Maybe not one card, but how about two?" Seto jeered as he revealed the 'Pot of Greed' card he had just drawn.

_WHAT! How is he even doing that? He should have folded several times over by now and yet he still stands there so confident as he manages to draw the cards he needs to avoid my assaults!_

The spell card was played and two more spell cards were drawn as a result. With only 200 life points left the CEO cautiously scanned the challenger's field one last time. After having drawn 'Monster Reborn' he was in two minds as to weather or not to use it to resurrect his lone Blue Eyes or a different dragon in its place instead to use in a combo with the other card 'Stamping Destruction' which would destroy one spell or trap card and inflict 500 points of damage as a result that would knock his tormentor clean out even if the mystery card turned out to be another 'Aegis of Gaia'.

_He still has a facedown card to be wary of and though I highly suspect it a bluff there is the slightest possibility that it could actually pose a threat to my combo if activated before I can play the two. Then there's that abomination of a dragon which my Blue Eyes can protect my life points from if something should go awry,- something that a lesser powerful one would be incapable of,- but after losing two of them already do I really want to risk losing a third? Though he doesn't currently have anything other than whatever Malefic monster he chose last turn ..._

"Having doubts are we?"

"Of course not." Seto forced a smirk to accompany his act. "Just toying with you for suspense purposes. You've done it to me this whole duel so it only seems fitting that you should receive a taste of your own medicine..."

"You're bluffing."

"If you _had_ done your research on me correctly then you'd know that I _never_ bluff." Psyching the opposition into making them believe lies was an important and valuable lesson he'd learnt and mastered from an extremely young age. It had served him well, and more often than not so had taking chances. "I play 'Monster Reborn' to bring back my devoted Blue Eyes from its untimely demise at the beginning of our duel."

"Hahaha! Oh this truly can't be happening!" Paradox began to laugh hysterically at the sight of the returning dragon. "I activate my set card."

_SHIT!_ Seto managed to keep hold of his stern face even though his combo had been broken. _I CAN still do this, all I need is another turn, Blue Eyes will protect me until then … _Suddenly it felt like someone had just stolen his insides as he saw the set card flip; it was blank. The burning sensation behind his glare was almost over powering enough to break his mask of confidence as his third Blue Eyes was taken from him.

"No!" Joey gasped as he continued to watch from afar. He'd felt his own spirit sink as a result of the capture and didn't even what to imaging the heartache the other man was going through right now. Anxiously he began to pace back and forth, his footsteps sending out a continuous beat along the fragile ground that enticed the cracks even closer to him.

_Don't feel! Don't feel! DON'T feel! _The CEO chanted to himself as he continued to fight back his distraught. _He has all three of your beautiful dragons; you have to reclaim them! You have to get Joey out of this place! You have to go home to Kisara and the kids … DON'T FEEL! You can't afford to feel! There's too much at stake to lose...!_

"I guess it always pays to be cautious and play it safe, eh Kaiba?" Paradox taunted through his own amazement of the treasure he'd hauled this duel as he now held the third white dragon in his hand along with yet another Malefic counterpart.

A malicious smirking face leered back up at him. "So you've taken another Blue Eyes, big whoop."

"Big whoop? I now possess all three!" _Why isn't he fazed?_

"And all of them shall be returned to me shortly. You don't seriously believe that you can win, do you?"

"Of course I can, and I shall! I've researched and studied all of your strategies and duels!"

"All of them? Really? That's some feat; impressive even." Seto's brows momentarily rose before narrowing once more and his smirk became even sharper. "But I doubt you paid close scrutiny to each and every one of them. After all, you didn't even know that 'Draining Shield' was part of my deck."

_He's right, that one did take me by complete surprise!_

"And were all of my moves as predicable as you'd expected?"

_He knows damn well that they weren't!_

Seto could see the seeds of doubt he'd sowed starting to take root from the startled looking eyes. It was exactly what he needed to buy himself another draw, provided that he could intimidate the challenger enough into not attacking on the next turn. "Tell me, how many of the duels that you studied ended with any combination of my Blue Eyes present on the field as I claimed victory? I bet the sources that you consulted didn't even explain that I purposely chose to end my duels that way _purely_ to boost my egotism. Kinda makes me wonder what history does say about me ..."

"It says that you're a _lair_ and a _cheat!_" Paradox hissed hatefully with a golden glare as he tried to regain control of the standoff against the brunette.

Their stares remained in a heated lock. _This is it; do or die. _The CEO began to move his card closer towards his duel disk. "You may have cock-blocked me from my desired victory, but I'm man enough to allow my pride to slide this one time in order for me to take you down with this card. The question is who's going to trigger it? You with your attack or me at my choosing?" He slowly placed it facedown and forcefully stated, "Check. Mate!"

_Poor Kaiba, he doesn't even know what game he's playing anymore._ Joey bit on his lip and stopped his pacing. _You can do it Rich-boy. If you believe, then I believe._

"It's your move Paradox."

_What could you possibly have that can defeat me? It has to be a bluff._ He drew his card only to see that he'd drawn another field spell card which was useless since he'd already had one in play from the very beginning. _Like I said, it always pays to be cautious. _An evil glint glistened in his eyes as he saw the perfect way to expose his victim's farce. "I'm afraid that I haven't been entirely honest with you about my 'Malefic World'. Throughout this whole duel I've only ever had one monster out at any given time..."

"Because that's all it permits you." Seto purposely interrupted with an air of arrogance to mask the fact that he could clearly see were the conversation and duel was actually heading. It also bought him vital additional seconds in order to prepare himself. _DON'T FEEL! DON'T FEEL!_

"I lied." Paradox's mouth twisted with a villainous grin and he discarded the captured Blue Eyes to the graveyard.

"Holy fuck!" Joey gasped in fright at the sight of two 'Malefic Blue Eyes White Dragons' side by side on the field. He took a step back and stumbled to fall on his behind causing a fissure to steadily come towards him.

"Well what are you waiting for?! Attack!"

_So that's your plan! _From the forced and overly confident reaction of the brunette in response to the sight of now two masked dragons in play, Paradox finally concluded that there was indeed a trap set waiting for him and that it would only be triggered if he declared an attack. _No doubt it's 'Mirror Force' that you have set which would still require another turn to vanquish the rest of my life points. Well there's no way you can overpower the Malefic counterparts of your most powerful monsters so I'm quite safe until I can draw a card of my own to safely dispose of your trap. I can see right through your plan Kaiba, and unfortunately for you, I'm not so gullible..._

There was a huge _CRACK _sound,followed by the terrified scream of the blond as the ground gave way beneath him.

"JOEY!" Without a second thought Seto leapt from where he stood and raced towards the newly formed crevice edge. He looked down over the cliff to see the other man desperately clinging to some deeply grown yet brittle tree roots. "Hold on!" His arm was offered downwards as he now lay on his front in an attempt to rescue his friend.

"Thanks." Joey gasped as he took hold of the hand reaching for him. "But what about the duel?"

"There's a _more important_ matter at hand." The brunette pulled with all his might.

_He'd give it all up,- just like that,- in order to save someone? _Paradox was left bemused by the sudden action of his opponent before he then devised a way to work things in his favour in order to end the duel right now. "Kaiba, you have until the count of ten to return or forfeit the duel! If you forfeit, your dragons shall remain mine _but_ I'll generously let you live … for now. The choice is yours."

"Get back to the duel and finish him." Joey insisted as he helped to pull himself up using the tree roots that broke not long after he tugged at them.

"One."

"Not until you're safe." Seto argued back through strained teeth as he continued to pull.

"Two."

"There isn't time."

"Three."

"Of course there is; there's plenty."

"Four."

"What about your dragons?"

"Five."

"As much as it pains me to say this, … they're just cards."

"Six."

"Okay, what have you done with the _real_ Kaiba?"

"Seven."

"Do you want saving or not?"

"Eight."

"_Go!_ Some _psycho_ plans to use our most powerful dragons to kill Pegasus and wipe Duel Monsters from existence!"

"Nine."

"I'm _not_ leaving you, you Mutt!"

"Ten."

The duel ended in the challenger's favour as his two Malefic dragons and the CEO's set card disappeared. _Not quite how I had wanted to end it all, but with the Red Eyes and all three Blue Eyes now in my deck, I wouldn't say that it was a complete waste of my time. Next I think I'll pay either Anderson or Truesdale a visit; perhaps even both? _His hoovering machine retransformed back into the motorcycle he had arrived on and the mask was placed back on his face once more before he started up his engine.

"Just a little further..." Seto now used both hands as he pulled the blond back on to the safety of solid ground.

Together they stood up and moved back away from the steep drop only to hear the sound of a revving engine as Paradox headed straight towards them. Both men parted in separate directions to get out of the way and avoid being hit as the roaring motorcycle sped through a pile of broken branches that were sent flying at multiple angles. Carrying on towards the crevice the masked rider disappeared back into the time stream.

One of the branches had hit Seto so forcefully that he now battled to keep his balance as he teetered on the cliff edge. The earth beneath his feet gradually gave way and his arms flailed as he fell.

Like a flash Joey dived to the rescue and managed to grab the brunette's right hand. "Gotcha!"

The CEO tried to grab back but the base of his thumb and fingers where squished so tightly by the other man's hold that he couldn't. He just didn't have the strength and his hand slipped further still.

"Oh no, _NO! _Don't you dare! Not after _everything_ we've just been through. Don't you _DARE _give up on me Rich-boy!"

Having gained a newfound determination from the blond's comments, Seto forced his crushed digits to wrap themselves around Joey's wrist and form a tighter bond. Bringing back his left arm he then swung it forcefully at the cliff to use his duel disk like a pickaxe as it sank into the earth and strained as he struggled to pull himself up.

_His help ought to make this a piece of cake. After all, it's not like this is the first time I've had to scale a cliff without the proper equipment at hand._

SNAP!

Without warning the blade of the duel disk broke. The jolt and weight of the dangling man was enough to drag his rescuer over the edge as gravity took control and the two friends fell together down into the abyss.

_8888888_

**A/N: If the duel had continued then Paradox would have held off attacking Seto, and on his next turn Seto would have drawn 'Luster Dragon' summoned it and played 'Stamping Destruction' to defeat Paradox and win the duel. Sucks to be Seto right? :/**

**Anyone who leaves a review will get one back in return.**

**KG**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you FutureStar27 for leaving a review ;) **

**.**

**Chapter Seven**

_It can't end like this!_ Seto thought as the wind blew rapidly through his hair,; the feeling strangely exhilarating yet terrifying at the same time. His heart raced faster than he had ever felt before and knew that any moment now they'd meet their final demise. He'd managed to maintain a tight hold on Joey's wrist and had pulled him close so that they now clung on to each other as they plummeted in darkness; he wouldn't allow either of them to separate and die alone.

_Ack! _The force of the impact he'd felt to his back had been painful but nowhere near what he'd feared would be experienced as his last moment of being. And yet his heart still continued to beat, his lungs contracted and expanded with each breath he drew so knew he clearly wasn't dead. At least not yet.

Warily he opened his eyes and gave a joyous laugh at the sight he saw as the huge basement room of his secret organisation now filled his view. "Joey!"

"Are we dead?" The blond questioned as his eyes remained scrunched shut whilst he clung tightly to the body of the man he was lying on top of.

"Far from it."

One eye was gradually opened and peered down to see the concrete flooring where they'd come to rest. _We're alive! _He pushed himself up from Seto's chest and stared at him in amazement. "We're alive!"

The two men continued to express their relief through laughter and hugged each other tightly.

Across the room, Ianto looked questioningly at Rebecca who'd succeeded in completing the exploration's retraction programme. "I thought you said he was at a business meeting?"

"That's what he told us." She replied just as stunned as the rest of them, before she made a random observation. _Why doesn't Joey have anything on his feet?_

Jack was the first one of the group to move as he promptly headed over towards the two ecstatic men lying on the floor. "Okay, come on now you two, break it up." He reached down and helped both of them to their feet before balling his hand into a fist and striking out.

"_Teme!" _Seto snarled at the older man for having punched him on his left upper arm._"WHAT_ was that for?"

"Do you have _ANY_ idea how worried you had me!"

The mix of anger, relief and disappointment in the captain's eyes forced the CEO to look away as a result of the reprimanding he'd been given. _I didn't ask you to play role of an elder brother! _His mind sneered at Jack whilst he massaged the pain in his arm. _And I certainly don't need to be treated like some little kid! _He fought back the smile now trying to concur his face. _At least now I know how Mokuba feels._

"Hey, I remember you!" Joey exclaimed as he recognised the greatcoated man standing before him. "You're the guy who gave Kisara away on their wedding day." He turned and pointed towards Ianto. "And you're the hired help guy."

"The best man actually." He corrected in a deadpan tone and held back the negativity he felt towards the imperious blond whom he hadn't expected to see ever again. "The groom's closet and most trusted fr…"

"Pfft, whatever." Joey then proceeded to identify the other people he saw coming over to join them. "Becky! Bakura too?" Next was a face he didn't recognise. "You miss, I haven't been introduced to."

"Diana Goddard." She flashed him a flirtatious smile.

He grinned back before asking nobody in particular. "Where are we?"

"Underneath Kaiba Corp." Ryou answered almost instantly and received a heated look from his boss for having revealed their location causing him to explain his actions. "Well he did ask ... I was merely ..."

"You broke it!" Rebecca came to her friend's aid again by diverting the attention away from him,- _will the two of them ever get along?_,- and refocused it to the damaged duel disk attached to her brother-in-law's arm. "Nice going, now we have to start from scratch."

"No we don't, it's only the playing field; easily replaceable."

"But _not_ a good idea." Ianto muttered loudly.

Seto had caught the hint from his friend and saw the disapproving look in Jack's eyes. He didn't fancy a bruise on his right arm to match the one currently throbbing on his left. _He can't surely expect me to abandon the whole project, not after all the hard work both Becky and I have put into it?_

"What is this place?" Joey continued with his questioning as he glanced around the massive room that had screens and various mechanical equipment scattered all around. "Is it some kind of Bat-cave?"

"...business meeting indeed! Why'd you lie to us?"

He'd caught the end of Rebecca's rant as she had also begun speaking at the same time as him. "You mean he didn't tell you guys that we were duelling?" A hurt and curious look was sent the CEO's way. "Why not?"

"It's not important right now." Seto snapped in response to them both. "We have other matters to attend to ..."

"It may not be important to you Rich-boy, but it _is_ to me!"

"Drop it Wheeler!" A glare accompanied the growled warning. It wasn't that he'd been ashamed of meeting up with the blond in order to play a card game; far from it. He just required a bit of time alone and away from everything else currently going on in his life in order to relax a little. Business, family, and keeping the secrets of Torchwood were all hard work; the duel would have be his ideal escapism had it not been hijacked.

_No, I will not 'drop it'!_ Joey thought to himself and pushed for more answers. "Did you even mean any of it? The things you said?"

Calmly Seto gave a single surrendering nod in response to his friend's frustration. "Every word, but right now Paradox is my priority."

"Oh no." Jack gave a groan at hearing the word paradox as he feared they may soon receive a visit and stern warning from the Doctor. "Please tell me you didn't create another."

"No, Paradox is the name of the guy who pulled us through the rift." He reassured the captain.

"Rift?" Joey asked though the others continued to talk amongst themselves as if he wasn't there.

"Said he'd travelled back from the future and challenged us both to a duel."

"Do they not have duellists in the future?" Diana had been the one to make the witty remark instead of the usually fast off the mark Welshman.

Ianto however was still busy trying to grasp the fact that his friend and the other man had teamed up together in a duel. _Why? I thought Seto abhorred him?_

"Obviously they did until Duel Monsters and something called Zero Reverse destroyed the Earth ..."

"Yeah, and that's why he came back to stop it all from happening." Joey made his presence known as he attempted to join in the conversation. "He wanted our ..."

"Have you two stopped and listened to yourselves?" Jack laughed as he brought their ludicrous explanations to a halt. "The world _does not_ end because of a card game; I know, I've been there. Gee Seto, he sure suckered you into that one!"

The CEO took a deep breath to help ease the temptation to hit the captain for such ridicule. "He _stole_ our dragons."

"Which ones?" Diana asked curiously.

Seto couldn't bring himself to say it out loud and was thankful when Joey stepped in to take over. "Our signature monsters, all four of them." The blond took out his deck and searched for the empty card to show her as proof.

"But what for? What could he possibly gain by taking your Blu..."

"He plans to use them to assassinate Pegasus." Seto sharply cut in before Ryou had the chance to say the name of his beloved absent dragons. "That way Duel Monsters will never have existed and the future will be changed accordingly."

"Hang on, hang on!" Rebecca massaged her head as she tried to process everything. "If I'm understanding this correctly, this _Paradox_ guy is collecting monsters, belonging to a game he says is responsible for ..."

"I _know_ it sounds ridiculous, and I'm sure there's more too it than that, but it still leaves me and Joey without ..."

"Hey Kaiba, check your deck. My Red Eyes is right here." He held up the card in question, a grin present on his face.

"What?!" Seto took out his own deck and fervently searched for his Blue Eyes. He found and counted them,- _One, two … three!,- _and laughed. "My Blue Eyes! They're all here, but how? He captured them. Used them against us."

"A temporary effect for the duration of the duel perhaps?" Ianto offered his thoughts.

The CEO shook his head. "No, he _definitely_ took them."

"Yes." Joey nodded in agreement. "And with you forfeiting the duel we lost the chance to reclaim them."

"But you never forfeit!" The Welshman gasped in surprise. _I don't even know you anymore Seto!_

"Look!" Jack stepped in determined to put an end to all of this nonsense. Why had they allowed themselves to get so wound up over a silly pointless game? _Better not let Seto hear me call it that again, the lecture he gave last time was bad enough_. "You both have all of your cards, and the game still exists, so whatever plan he had, it _hasn't _been carried out."

"But what if Pegasus has already been killed and that's why their dragons have returned?" Ryou pondered aloud.

_Thanks for nothing! _The captain couldn't believe that the conversation was still on-going. _Am I the only one who sees Duel Monsters for what it is? A children's card game!_

The explanation continued. "The game and those particular cards have been around for many years now so it's not something that's likely to vanish instantly without a trace."

"I guess there's only one way to find out." Seto stated as he reached inside his suit's pocket to retrieve his phone. He frowned as he looked at the screen. "Thirty-six missed calls?"

"That was us; Ianto mostly." Rebecca explained. "We tried to call and warn you about a sudden appearance, that we now know was Paradox, on the rift monitor but you didn't answer your phone. Once the wave hit I had no choice but to rush through and finalise the retraction programme in order to rescue you, _which_ you're welcome by the way..."

"Thanks, I'll make it up to you somehow." The CEO swiftly changed the setting on his cell phone so that it was no longer on silent mode and speed-dialled his contact entry for Industrial Illusions.

The line rang it's usual six times before the man on the other end answered. "Well hello Kaiba-boy! To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected call?"

A smirk crossed his face at the sound of Pegasus' voice. "My finger slipped." The call was then immediately ended and phone placed back inside his pocket. "He sounds alive and well to me."

"So if Paradox hasn't...?" Joey began. "... What the heck's going on?"

"Someone has obviously sorted it." Jack stated. Maybe now they could move on from the matter?

"But who?" Seto questioned.

"I don't know!" The captain threw his arms up in further frustration. "The Doctor? Time Agency? Future us? We may never know for sure, but it's one less thing to worry about which leaves you with only one more mess to sort."

"Which is?"

Jack gestured with his eyes and brows and Seto's gaze followed.

"W-what are you all looking at me for?" Joey asked nervously as six pairs of eyes landed on him.

_You don't know just how right you are Jack, I do have a mess to sort out._ The CEO smiled sadly as he recalled the state he'd found the other man in earlier that day. _Only trouble is, where do I start?_

_8888888_

**A/N: One more chapter left and this story comes to a close. Anyone who leaves a review will have one left in return :)  
><strong>

**FutureStar27 - I'm glad you're liking my portrayal of Seto; Most times I get it right and other times I'm completely OOC (just had the scary thought that I've been writing him for almost 10 years now O.o) In my 'saga' he's a lot older,- he's around 34ish in this fic,- so has grown more into the man I'd like to imagine he could become whilst still retaining those traits we know and love him for. Also, I think my 'duelling' Seto is again different as I got a little swept up in the crazy and sometimes cheesiness of the game … but boy, was it fun to write XD **

**KG**


	8. Chapter 8

**Big thanks to FutureStar27 for reviewing :)**

**.**

**Chapter Eight**

"Coffee anyone?" Ianto asked as the seven of them continued to stand in complete silence with the blond haired man the centre of their attention.

"I'd love some." Diana replied, unaware of just what it was that was actually being suggested and offered.

"Me too, I take mine white, but go easy on the milk." Joey gave his preference to the self-important tea-boy.

_You oxymoron._ The Welshman scoffed rolling his eyes. _I'll be glad to see the back of you once again._

"Tea please!" Ryou stated only to have his shoulder bumped by Rebecca who gave him a disapproving stare and shake of her head that caused him to finally catch on as to what was happening. _Ohhhhh! _

"That won't be necessary Yan." Seto told his friend as he didn't feel the need to retcon their unexpected guest resulting in the wipe-clean of Joey's mind to erase all that had been said and seen that day. "We're all out of coffee."

"That's okay, we brought our own." Jack assured with a rather haughty smirk.

"I _said_, we're all _OUT_ of coffee." The CEO growled as his eyes narrowed dangerously on the captain trying to control things beyond that of his own jurisdiction.

For a moment the two of them remained locked in a battle of cold blue eyed stares. The older man infuriatingly bit his inner lip at having been challenged over the decision to allow the newcomer to just walk away like nothing had happened. Torchwood was supposed to remain secret so what could possibly be gained by letting the deliciously gorgeous looking blond retain all that he had discovered? _I hope you know what you're doing Seto._

_Oh, you can not be serious! _Ianto exclaimed internally as he watched his lover grudgingly back down to let their friend continue with such foolishness.

_That's right Harkness, it's my decision, in my city, involving my team. _Seto turned and made his way closer to Joey. "Wheeler, we need to talk."

"I'm listening." The blond raised an eyebrow in show of his inquisitiveness.

_Where to start? _He thought to himself. Aware of the other five people present in the room with them, he then decided that staying focused on the here and now was the best option as what he'd witnessed back in the apartment could wait until a more private meeting between the two of them. "You shouldn't be here."

"Like I_ had _a choice?!"

"I know." Seto remained calm and patient, after all it was his fault that Joey had become dragged into the whole escapade. "I'll shoulder the full responsibility for everything that has happened so far …" _What are you waiting for? Just say it! _"I want you to know about Torchwood."

"Torchwood? What's that, some kind of new product you've developed?"

"No. It's a secret organisation assigned to protect the Earth from whatever falls through the rift of the time-space continuum."

"Say what?" That was the second time in just a few hours that he'd heard such calm and yet un-sarcastic nonsense come from the CEO's mouth.

"He fights aliens." The captain shouted from over Seto's shoulder.

"I can handle this, _thank you_ Jack!"

"Aliens?" Joey laughed. "This has to be some kind of a joke right?"

"It's no joke, sometimes we_ do_ fight aliens..."

"So, why tell me this? What has it got to do with me being here?"

_Cut the small talk or this is going to take forever._ Seto told himself and decided to get straight to the point. "I want you to become a part of my team."

"Team?" Joey laughed again not quite sure that he believed what he was hearing. The Kaiba he'd once known had never, under _any_ circumstances, considered himself a team player so the request just didn't seem to ring true, despite the evidence all around him and the fact they'd paired up for the duel a short while earlier. "You want _me_ to join … you?"

"That was the idea." The CEO nodded. "You fought valiantly by my side against Paradox. Your Passion, determination, skill and overall will for the pair of us to succeed is _exactly_ what I'm looking for in a new recruit. I'm hoping that you'll ..."

The Imperial March score from Star Wars sounded from Seto's jacket as his cell phone rang.

"I take it that's Pegasus calling you back?" The blond sneered with amusement as he saw a rather narked looking Seto reach for his phone.

"No, someone _far _worse." He canceled the call. "I'm sorry, where was I?"

"You were hoping that I'll..?"

"... That you'll at least consider my offer." A genuine warm smile graced the brunette's face. "We could really use someone with so much heart."

"What if I were to decline?" The question was asked cautiously just as the Imperial March sounded again.

_Fuck off! _The call was canceled once more before the CEO began to answer the question that had been asked. "I'm not going to force you into something that you don't want to do. You're free to just walk away if you wish. And providing that you can keep all this ..." He gestured around the room in general. "... and what you know about Torchwood a secret, there'll be no consequences." A pause and brief moment of silence before he added. "You'd be paid an above substantial salary of course …"

More silence.

"And it would really help me out a lot if you said _yes_."

_Is he offering me a job out of pity, or does he really mean what he said? Not that I have anything better to do anyway. Sure beats wasting my life feeling sorry for myself all the time when I could be helping others, and I guess there could be worse things in life than working for Rich-boy. _Joey was still undecided as he glanced around the room one more time and caught the faces of the rest of the team members. _Plus_ _I'd be amongst friends and people I know_. He glared at Ianto. _The only drawback I can think of would be that Welsh jerk._

"_... Baby you light up my world like nobody else, __The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed, But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell, You don't know oh oh; You don't know you're beautiful!…"_

"_Don't _you _dare _say a word Harkness!" Seto warned sternly as his cell phone rang again only to play the annoying pop song that he'd foolishly let Anathema chose as a ringtone.

Jack kept his lips tightly pursed together in a smirk and held back the mockery he'd wanted to spout after hearing the One Direction song. _Just you wait Seto, you are sooooo getting their album for your birthday this year._

The phone was retrieved yet again and this time he accepted the call. "Hi Honey!"

"_That_ is the nicest thing you have _ever_ said to me Seto Kaiba. Though I hope you're not expecting me to address you back in the same manner."

_Naoko!_ Seto's mind growled furiously at not having spoken to his wife like he had been expecting. "What are you doing with Kisara's phone?"

"_You_ weren't answering my calls, but you already knew that since you hung up on me, _twice!_"

"I was in a meeting." He lied through gritted teeth as he strode away from everyone in order to get a little privacy.

"_No,_ you _weren't_!" The cantankerous woman argued back down the line. "If you _had _then your handset would have been placed onto silent-mode so therefor the line would have continued to ring before going to your voicemail, but it _didn't_ as you made sure to cancel them..."

"Is there actually any purpose to this call?" The CEO sighed tiredly as he interrupted the ranting. He frustratedly wiped a hand across his face determined not to give her the satisfaction of him admitting his actions nor would he even consider stating 'forgetfulness' in changing the modes as an alternate excuse either. There'd be no end of it,- _ever,- _for as long as he lived if he allowed himself to hand her such a foolish ante.

"Keen to get rid of me are you?"

"As a matter of fact, YES _I_ am!" After everything else that had happened that day Seto could no longer keep a firm hold on his annoyance with his wife's friend whom he had constantly clashed with since the first time he'd met her. "In case you haven't noticed,_ I_ have a company to run and _don't_ have the time to play games or make idol chit-chat with the likes of _you_!"

"Temper, temper. Anyone would think that you didn't like me Seto."

"Just cut to the chase; what is it you wanted?"

There was a brief paused before Naoko spoke again. "Kisara's in the hospital."

"What!" He gasped alarmingly. Part of him hoped it was some cruel prank on her part whilst the rest of him began to fear what it may be that had befallen the woman he loved. "What happened?"

"We'd taken the kids to the park when she became … unwell. So like the faithful friend that we both know I am, I insisted on bringing her right here; I _know_ what that sharp intaking of air sound symbolises so _don't_ you even _think_ about tearing into me for more information! All you need to know is that she's resting,- I promised her I'd tell you that much,- anything else is dependant on you getting your ass down here and seeing Kisara in person in order to ask her yourself."

A tightly balled fist hanging by his side shook in anger, cheek twitched and teeth were bared as Seto forced himself to remain calm towards the baneful woman. "Tell Kisara that I'm on my way." He ended the call before she could aggravate him even more.

"Is everything okay?" Jack was daring enough to ask his friend. He'd not seen the younger man so easily riled before.

"Kisara's been taken to the hospital." The CEO informed as he came striding back over.

"Why?" Rebecca asked with grave concern in her voice.

"Not sure. I'm going to head on over there and find out."

"Okay." She nodded knowing that she'd be left in charge again once he'd gone. "But what about Joey?"

_Indeed._ Seto looked at the man in question. _I can't just leave him here like this, but Kisara needs me..._

"We could always shoot him." Ianto offered a suggestion to his problem. "That way Torchwood stays secret."

"We can't do that!" Ryou exclaimed after having taken the other man's dark humour seriously. "He's a friend!"

"I can." The Welshman assured and unexpectedly drew his gun from beneath his suit jacket to hold it level at the blond's head. "I'd have no qualms about it."

Unsure himself if his friend had been jesting or not, Seto was quick to move and diverted the gun held in the younger man's hand so that it pointed upwards. "I think we've already established that's not necessary." He looked the other in the eyes. There was definitely a hint of jealously present in the contused stare received.

_It's not fair! _Ianto thought to himself as he broke their gaze and then lowered his gun to replace it back in its holster. _After everything I've been through! I finally found someone besides Jack whom I can wholeheartedly confide in, can comfortably be myself with. That bastard will change all that!_

"Yan." The Welshman refused to re-engage so the CEO grabbed his arm to pull him close and lowered his voice to barely a whisper. It was just loud enough for his friend to hear but soft enough that the other's could not. "He's not going to replace you, nor is he going to take away what the two of us have. I give you my word on that."

The captain watched the two men closely as his lover gave a feeble smile in response to the words that had been whispered. Words he'd been able to lip read. _You won't find a more loyal man than him Yantie. Even the Doctor isn't as ardent as Seto. He'll be the friend that's there for you, always._

"You guys genuinely scare me with your sense of humour." Joey spoke to break the silence that seemed to fill the huge room. He gave a dramatic sigh as he revealed his decision. "I guess it's something that I'll have to get used to."

"Welcome on board." Seto beamed a broad smile at his new recruit as he let go of Ianto.

"Now that that has been sorted, didn't you have somewhere to go?" Rebecca commented on his delayed departure to be with his wife.

"I was just going." He nodded in reply and turned to Jack. "Can you give Joey the full Torchwood briefing in my absence?"

"Oh sure, _now_ you want my help!" The older man mocked.

Seto bid him a playful farewell with a half salute and thankful grin, - "Captain, my Captain!" - before heading up the metal stairs towards the elevator.

The blond watched his new boss leave. _I can't believe that he's the same jerk I used to know! I guess some people can change for the better. _He then observed the rest of the team dispense back into their own tasks and routine whilst the captain remained by his side.

"So Joey, what made you decide to want to stick around?"

"Rich-boy isn't one to normally ask for help. The fact that he has tells me that this is something important. And I don't plan on letting him down."

_88888888888888888888888888888888_

_I hate these places!_ Seto growled to himself as he meandered down seemingly never-ending halls in search of Kisara.

Upon arrival at the hospital he'd been given directions at the reception desk in order to find his desired location. And as usual he seemed to have encountered the incompetent member of staff who provided almost next to no help whatsoever. Perhaps they were all like that? Or maybe someone just hated their job, - or him,- and thought it would be amusing to misdirect him on purpose?

It also didn't help that the different departments weren't marked as clearly and boldly as they could have been. Anyone working there would become accustom to the building's layout over time, whereas the typical patient who rarely attended such a place would not. And those patients who were unfortunate enough to attend on a regular basis … well, they surely had more serious matters to be concerned with instead of gloating over their superior navigational knowledge.

Finally, after taking a third left and not the second like he had been instructed to do so, he found the private room that his wife occupied. Looking through the small window in the door he saw the woman he loved sat up on the bed with their young son as she helped guide him to play a game via the touchpad held in his small chubby hands. Across the room Naoko and Anathema sat playing a game of chess that the little girl seemed to be winning from the sight of all the pieces she had accumulated at the side of the board next to her. He knocked lightly on the door before making his entrance.

"Seto!" Kisara's face lit up with a smile.

"Hi Honey." He hurried to her side and kissed her on the cheek. "I came as quick as I could."

"Daddy!" Anathema squealed as she caught sight of him. "Look at me, I'm winning."

"That's great Kiddo." He told her proudly and also caught the disdainful look emitted his way from the woman sat opposite her. _Go to hell. _His attention was then swiftly diverted to greet his son who seemed more interested in the touchpad than his presence. After ruffling the toddler's hair he gave his full attention back to his wife as she spoke to him.

"I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble at work."

"No, of course you didn't. It was just a board meeting, nothing important. But enough about that, what about you? What happened?"

"It's nothing really." Kisara assured with a slight hint of hysteria threatening to take over. She couldn't possibly tell him, or anyone for that matter, about the vision she'd had; they'd only laugh. "It's all an over reaction, I'm sure…"

"Over reaction!" Naoko's harsh voice sounded out in response to her words. "Kissy, the doctors wouldn't have assigned and kept you in here to rest if they thought it was only_ 'an over reaction'_!"

Seto frowned as he saw his wife's silent submissive gestures to the sternly spoken statement from her friend. He knew that what he was going to say next wouldn't please her as it didn't please him to admit it either. "I'm sorry Honey, but I have to agree with Naoko."

"It was just a little headache and dizziness." She argued back meekly. "I've had far worse in the past..."

"Not as a result of a high blood pressure and extremely low haemoglobin you haven't!"

"_Thank you_ Naoko, I was just about to make my way to that!" Kisara snapped irritably at the way her friend had blurted things out as though it had been purely done on purpose just to cause her husband to worry.

"Is it anaemia?" Seto asked a little hesitatingly. His wife was fair skinned after all so it wouldn't have been impossible to not have noticed a paler complexion as one of the signs. If that was to be the case then perhaps she wasn't as ill as he'd first feared? "Or is it something ... more?"

"A little bit more." She nervously nodded her confirmation. As she saw the dread began to seep back into his eyes she revealed her newly discovered condition that had caused her to become anaemic. "I'm pregnant."

The swirls of dread and fear in his mind vanished instantly at the news he'd been told. He gave a relieved sigh that his wife was going to be okay and asked, "How far?"

"Eleven weeks."

"That's pretty far." He said with a surprised look.

"I know, but my menstruation hasn't stopped!" She informed hoping that he hadn't assumed she'd been hiding the baby from him. In truth she was just as much surprised even and she'd seen their next child on the screen of the ultrasound scan that had been performed a short while earlier which seemed to make the situation all the more real. "If I hadn't come here today then I still wouldn't have known, though if the headaches and dizziness had continued over the next several days or so I would have eventually seen a doctor ..."

"Hey, hey." Seto cooed as he gently squeezed her hand to provide comfort for his wife and assure her that further explanations weren't required. "It's okay Honey, calm down. Take a deep breath."

Kisara did as her husband had suggested by drawing in a lungful of air and exhaling slowly.

"Feel better?" He asked and she nodded at the proud smile illuminating his face. "So, another baby huh?"

"Baby? Where?" Anathema asked excitedly.

"In your Mom's belly." Seto told her.

"How'd it get there?"

"I'll tell you when you're older Kiddo." He leant over and kissed his wife again who pulled him even closer as their lips touched.

Over four years had passed since they'd found each other and still his heart managed to melt and explode like it had that very first time that they'd kissed, and he prayed it would continue to do so during all their time together. Kisara was the one to complete him and the puzzle of his heart, without her he'd be lost.

Paradox may have momentarily stolen all three of his Blue Eyes cards during their duel but he hadn't taken the things Seto treasured most. His family were all that truly mattered to him. He would fight right down to the very last card of his deck, breath of his body and beat of his heart in order to protect them. They were his future and he'd allow _nobody_ to take them from him.

**END**

_8888888_

**A/N: And there we are, the end to another instalment of the saga :) **

**For those of you following/enjoying the saga, fear not as it will continue with chapter 3 of 'Birth of a Kaiba' sometime next week over in the Yugioh/Doctor Who crossover section.**

**Last chance to leave reviews,**

**KG**


End file.
